April's Fools
by chickatita
Summary: Complete. Tomoka has lost all faith in Ryoma and Sakuno getting together of their own accord, so she and the other regualrs decide to lend their helping hands over to this romantically challened pair. Critique is welcome.
1. The Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama or any of its characters.

April's Fools

She hated him.

That's right; she had had it with Ryoma Echizen.

She knew she was never very high on his favorites list either. She had come to accept this and had moved on accordingly.

But this was just cruel.

How could he say something that stupid about her best friend?

--

Tomoka watched sulkily as Oishi practiced with Fuji. She balanced her head on her hand, which rested on one of her knees.

She turned her head slightly to regard her companion. Her pigtailed friend was totally engrossed in the match, not even noticing her friend's patronizing stare.

'_My job would be much easier if you two would just be more open!' _Tomoka thought bitterly, and then sighed.

'_One is too shy to admit her feelings and the other is just a stubborn, dense ass…'_

She supposed she couldn't blame him. He didn't know they were listening; all he knew was that he was being harassed and needed to escape. In fact, it was all Horio's fault anyway! She would have to beat him up later…

Tomoka turned her head back to the game for a second, and then flipped over to the other end of the bleachers where she and Sakuno were being watched. Eiji and Momo regarded the pair worriedly.

'_Good, at least they know something needs to be done about it.' _Tomoka sighed once more then calmly strolled over to the regulars.

--

She thought her plan was brilliant at the time, but in retrospect, it could have been better thought out.

It was simple really; get Ryoma to admit his feelings to Sakuno with a little help from Eiji and Momo. They wanted to get the pair together as much as she did, so they didn't need much convincing when she asked for help.

They timed everything perfectly, synchronized watches and everything. Though it was all for naught. The moment that Momo had decided to pop the innocent question-

"_So, what do you think of Sakuno?" _

Simple, to the point, and not too intrusive, so Ryoma wouldn't feel threatened—just as Tomoka planned. Eiji even volunteered to throw in his two cents—

"_Nya! I like her! She's nice and she brings yummy food for the team!"_ This further protected the innocence of their little conversation.

Then something she had not anticipated happened, the idiot Horio confidently strolled over and started blathering away during her and Sakuno's planned, _**timed**_entrance.

"_Ha! He __**likes **__her. I can prove it. I always see him lookin' at her in class. He helps her with tennis, which he has never done for me, even though I'm one of his best friends. Aaand she's the only one around here that he has ever bought a Ponta for, because god forbid someone takes away a Ponta that he could have drank." _

Any innocence that Ryoma may have previously thought the conversation held was lost. Maybe if Sakuno heard that reasoning, even if it was from Horio, then the whole thing would have gone better. But that wasn't the case; Eiji flashed the abort signal too late and before Tomoka could do anything about it, Sakuno walked around the corner into sight and hearing range. Just in time to hear Ryoma's panicked reply.

"_I'm just nice to her because she's the coach's granddaughter. I don't like her like that. She sits in front of me in class – where else am I supposed to look? And besides she needs all the lessons she can get – she sucks. Why should I help you? Aren't you always the one who is bragging about his two years of tennis experience?"_

Tomoka had to hand it to her, if she had heard that, she would have run away crying, or punched him in the face (or something to that extent).

Sakuno froze for a moment after hearing this. She then turned around and took a few steps forward as if to leave the tennis grounds, but then she seemed to think better of this. She turned around again and strolled over to the small group.

'_This is it'_ Tomoka thought, _'Sakuno's heart broken, so now she's going to punch the prince in the face.'_ But to Tomoka's surprise and relief she just passed them silently, lightly brushing her shoulder against Ryoma's.

If not for the looks on the tennis players faces you wouldn't even know that anything was wrong.

Then, like a breeze on the wind, she was gone.

--

Of course, she had to be restrained. If Sakuno wasn't going to punch him, she would, easy. It didn't matter if she was president of his fan club, at the moment; she had an obligation to her best friend.

The minute Sakuno disappeared, Eiji and Momo's horrified looks turned murderous as they looked at Horio. Who promptly ran away. They would probably have run after him too, if it weren't for the sudden, almost inhuman, screech of rage that came from where Sakuno first emerged.

'_YOU ASSHOLE! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT!? I'LL KILL YOU!!' _Tomoka howled. She charged at him swinging wildly. Before she could land a hit though, two strong pairs of arms grabbed each of her fists and jerked her backward before she did any damage.

Ryoma looked bewildered. Eiji and Momo, who were actually struggling to hold on to the schoolgirl turned she-hulk, quickly told him to escape.

'Nya! We'll …handle this…ochibi…Nya!' Eiji gasped as Tomoka elbowed him her struggle.

'Get out of here, baka!' Momo continued before jerking his leg away from Tomoka's kicking range.

Ryoma, for once, did what his sempais told him, collected his things quickly, and got out of there as fast as he could.

--

That was about two weeks ago; Sakuno had avoided Ryoma since then. She went about this by not going to tennis practices and going to school late so she wouldn't have to see him on the walk there. She'd be first out of the classroom to avoid him during the school day, and Tomoka wasn't even sure where Sakuno went for lunch anymore. They normally sat with Ryoma, Horio, Katchiro and Katsuo. The last few weeks Tomoka had been sitting with some of the girls from the fan club. She suspected that her friend was hiding somewhere in the library at this time.

At first she thought it was for the best. Any guy, even one as good-looking as him, who would openly insult her friend without hesitation, wasn't going hang around without Tomoka having something to say about it.

But she started to see the signs, though subtle, she picked up on them.

'_Huh…so that idiot Horio had half a brain after all…'_ Tomoka thought one day, after she caught Ryoma staring at Sakuno during English. When she closely examined the look on his face…he almost looked regretful…

She examined him closer.

But before she could come to a definite conclusion the teacher decided to make his presence know to the zoned-out students. He called her to stand and read the passage about English holidays. She was not happy to have the attention of the class drawn to her. But she never guessed that later she would be thanking him for it.

--

After much convincing on Tomoka's part, on Friday, she got Sakuno to go to the boy's tennis practice that afternoon. The only reason she agreed was because her grandmother promised to take both of them shopping afterward, if they waited for her (which also took much convincing on Tomoka's part…).

As soon as Tomoka reached Eiji and Momo, they bombarded her with complaints and doubts.

"Hoi hoi! What do we do? Ochibi is miserable! Nya!"

"He's been skulking around the courts for the past few days! At first it wasn't that bad, but he barely pays attention to tennis now!"

"It's really bugging him, Nya, we have to do something!"

"Everyone sees it too! They're getting sick of his attitude! If Tezuka buchou finds out it's partially our fault, he'll kill us!!"

Tomoka sighed, she knew all this. She was dealing with similar problems with Sakuno.

"Okay, okay! Calm down! It can't be that bad. Where is he anyway?"

Eiji pointed toward the soda machine, where the prince stood, looking at the bleachers indecisively. Tomoka smirked.

"Perfect…" Tomoka mumbled

Unfortunately, the two sempais heard. "It's perfect because our ochibi is suffering!? Nya! Was that you're original intent?!"

"You're evil! How could you just break young hearts like that?! They're both suffering! Saku-chan too!"

Tomoka sighed for the umpteenth time that day, "No, dang it! It's perfect because he knows he has to apologize—just look at him! We just need to give him the opportunity to…"

Suddenly, it struck her like lightning.

Flashback:

"_Ms.Osakada! Please stand and read to the class, the paragraph about April Fools day." Tomoka scrambled out of her seat hurriedly, and dropped her book on the ground in her haste. The class giggled at bit at her expense. After she bent over embarrassedly to pick it up, she began to read…_

"_April Fools Day— or All Fools Day, the origin of this holiday is not certain, what is certain is that it begun as a fest of fools, where people would trick each other into making fools of themselves. To this day it is celebrated on April 1.On this day, people play practical jokes on friends or neighbors of varying sophistication, sending them on fools' errands. The aim of this is to embarrass the gullible." Tomoka read this passage, and then sat down quickly to further prevent embarrassment._

End Flashback.

A smile slowly curved into her features.

"I know what we can do." She confidently assured the sempais.

"**What?!" **They both cried in unison.

"April Fools" Tomoka said simply.

Eiji looked confused while Momo excitedly replied "Yeah that'll fix'em good! ...What's April Fools…?"

"It's a holiday in America; they play a bunch of tricks on each other during the first of April." She readily supplied.

"Your point being..?" Momo asked again

"Well, what better way to get these two together than tricking them into it?" The evil smirk returned.

"Nya! Now I see where you're going with this…" Eiji whispered excitedly, realization dawning in his eyes. "So what are we gonna do, and how are we gonna to pull it off?" he continued.

"There is a 73.2 percent chance you three are up to something. And a 97.7 percent chance it has to do with Sakuno and Echizen." Sadaharu Inui popped up from out of nowhere, as is his custom, and started spouting out facts to the group.

They all jumped about a foot in the air.

"I…I-Inui! Don't scare me like that nya!" Eiji yelped from his position in Momo's arms. After he got over the shock, Momo promptly dropped said boy on the ground.

"Ouch-nya!"

"That's what you get for pulling a Scooby-doo on me!" Momo growled, annoyed at having to play 'Shaggy'.

"What do you want Inui-sempai?" Tomoka asked as politely as she could.

"I would like to take this opportunity to further finalize my data on hormonal interaction of adolescent teens i.e. Echizen and Sakuno. And I would like to chart the pre and post effects Sakuno has on Echizen's tennis playing. I could also finalize my data on Echizen's courting skills if your stratagem succeeds." Inui stated this all in a mono-tone.

Everyone just stared for a second, then Tomoka decided to break the silence.

"Uhmm…could you repeat that? …In Japanese this time please…?" Tomoka said after a few minutes

"I want in." He said simply

"We would also like to participate with your plan" Fuji said, he and Oishi were coming from the direction of the courts.

"Fshhhhh..." Came a low hissing noise

"BURNING! I'm game too!!" Chimed Taka's racquet-powered voice.

"Okay, we need to plan this better, let's meet at noon tomorrow at Kawamura's restaurant." Tomoka whispered quickly, thinking from years of experience, dealing with her siblings, that a loud voice like Taka's would have attracted attention

As if on cue Sakuno's quiet voice somehow broke through the hullabaloo and immediately quieted everyone down.

"Tomo-chan! What's taking you so long? Grandma is waiting for us!" She called from the entrance to the tennis courts.

"Ah! I got to go! I'll catch you guys later!" She gave a little wink at this and followed Sakuno out of the park.

"What the hell are you all up to?" Came the tennis prince's cold voice.

"Nothing." Momo said innocently, "What makes you think we're up to something?"

Ryoma gave them one last frosty glare before departing for home.

--

It was dark before Sakuno and Tomoka got home from their little shopping escapade, and Tomoka already had half of her plans completed.

"Oooh Tomo-chan! How could I have let you talk me into buying that outfit?! I'm never going to wear it. It was a waste of money!" Sakuno pouted.

"Come on Sakuno-chan! I paid for half of it. You never know when you'll need a nice sexy outfit to keep the boys drooling." Tomoka purred easily.

Tomoka had gotten the hard part over with, she convinced her to buy it- from a store that didn't take refunds. Now it didn't matter if she wanted to keep it or not, the outfit was there to stay.

"You know, I got you a present." She suddenly recalled. "While you were looking at tennis shoes, I slipped away for a second. I think I'll give it to you now." Tomoka clarified. All the while, a childlike smile played at her lips.

"Tomo-chan! You shouldn't have, I didn't get anything for you!" Sakuno fretted. Tomoka beamed at her simple friend, who usually denied material gifts; she delighted in making other people happy.

"Oh, I think you need this." She smiled holding out a small pink bag for her.

"Next time we go out shopping, I'll get you something! And pay for lunch!" Sakuno continued taking the bag reluctantly.

"Now, now, you shouldn't thank me until you see it." Tomoka's grin was the equivalent of the Cheshire cat's.

Tomoka was right of course. The moment Sakuno opened the bag, her face turned as red as a cherry and she threw Tomoka an incredulous look.

"I…I can't believe you b-bought these!!" She finally managed to sputter after a minute filled with nothing but Tomoka's laughter. Inside the little bag was a lacy pink thong accompanied by a matching bra.

"HAHAHA! Ah! I thought….y-you…could use it to…wear under your new outfit…BWAHAHA!" She could no longer hold in her amusement and burst into laughter again.

Sakuno knew that she was a freshman in high school now and should be used to these things, especially coming from Tomoka, but she couldn't. She was just too embarrassed. Her modesty prevented her from doing so. Not to say she hadn't thought about it. She just couldn't do so without her face inventing new shades of red to turn. How could she not think about it, especially when she was attracted to someone like Ryoma-k—

'_Wait!'_ she told herself. _'He doesn't like you, you heard him say it yourself, just get over it and stop thinking about him!' _With that thought firmly in mind, she continued to scold Tomoka for her misdeeds.

--

Tomoka showed up early the next day to Kawamura's sushi place.

"Ah. Osakada-san. You sure are eager to reveal your plan." Takashi said, smiling shyly.

"Hai. I have already gotten some of it set up, but I'll need to rely on you guys for more creative ideas." Tomoka replied, once again mentally marveling at how quiet and calm the racquet-less Takashi was.

Slowly the rest of the six regulars involved waltzed into the restaurant. Tezuka had better things to do than waste his time like this, and Ryoma was the victim in question.

"Okay everybody, now that we're all here I'll tell you my plan." Tomoka announced once everybody settled down. They all quieted at once and gave her their full attention.

"Well I thought that since April fools day is on Monday, we should celebrate it properly…"

--

It was Sunday, Ryoma's favorite day of the week; the day he could sleep in, play with his cat, Karupin, and he didn't even have any chores to do. So what if a certain girl with too-long hair and wobbly hips had been ignoring him? So what if he had been pining to hear her voice since the first day it was absent? So what if not seeing her shy smile and blush was gnawing at his insides like a rabid dog? He shouldn't let that ruin his day, right?

He had ignored his raging hormones and just enjoyed his Sunday—by sleeping in till about noon and eating a well-earned brunch. He was relaxing when his pleasant weekend was abruptly cut short. Someone was banging on his door, demanding his attention (on Sunday of all days!) Wasn't that like, the ninth deadly sin or something? As soon as he opened the door, he wished he hadn't.

"Hoi hoi! Ochibi-chan! I thought you would never come! We were waiting forever nya!"

"You're still in your pajamas; they have fish on them…i.e. data…"

"Did you stay up late? Is that why you slept in? Or are you sick!? Where's a thermometer!? We need to take your temperature!"

Great, just the people Ryoma didn't want to see on his Sunday…

"What the hell are you all doing here!?" Ryoma barked angrily.

"Nya, we just want to hang out with our favorite ochibi!" Eiji readily supplied, while he wandered into the kitchen and started grabbing things out of the refrigerator.

The other half of Seigaku's 'golden pair', Oishi was currently running around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for a thermometer. He swore the guy was just like a nesting mother hen.

Inui was wandering around Ryoma's living room, somehow collecting 'data' from his couch pillow, scribbling furiously in his notebook all the while.

"What's going on in here?!" A loud masculine voice suddenly boomed, startling everyone out of what they were doing.

Nanjiro Echizen strolled into the room looking menacing. His face immediately changed into a sulky one the minute has saw who the company was.

"Oh, it's just you brats, I thought it was that cute little Sakuno-chan and I would get to break up a hot make-out session between her and shounen." he sighed heavily, sounding like the weight of the world was upon his shoulders. "I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer for that day to come…"

"We're not all perverts like you, oyaji!!" Ryoma snarled as his face turned crimson.

"Nya, That's happened before?!" Eiji said eagerly, completely ignoring Ryoma.

"No, it seems that my shounen isn't as smooth with the ladies as his old man…" He sighed greatly once again. "I tried to pass on my lovely playboys to him at the least, but he refuses to accept them… I thought he was gay until I saw him with that old hag's granddaughter. There's hope yet!"

Suddenly, a dark shadow descended over them all.

"All of you…Get. Out. NOW!" Ryoma snarled. The look on his face sent even his own father running.

--

They stood together on the side walk outside.

"Nya! Inui did you…?" Eiji asked cautiously, afraid they would have to go back in there.

"Yes. I did it while Echizen-san was talking to you two." Sadaharu replied, grinning from a job well-done.

"What'cha doin'?" Nanjiro questioned.

The seniors stayed silent; would he be mad if he knew they were tricking his son into admitting his feelings for a girl? Apparently they looked suspicious enough for the experienced father to guess what was going on.

"What are you planning to do to Ryoma?" He said ominously. Inui and Eiji hid behind their 'mother'.

Oishi kept his cool in front of the concerned parent. "Sir you were just saying how you wanted him to be with Sakuno. Well, we are trying to set them up too; it just involves a bit of strategy." He reasoned.

Nanjiro's demeanor immediately brightened.

"Oh, well, that's all right then. I thought you were giving him drugs, or playboys that I have yet to 'inspect'."

The regulars all sweat dropped.

"So what are you doing anyway?" The boys decided that he was trustworthy and confided in him their plan.

"Heh heh, shounen will never know what hit'em…I'll help you guys as much as I can!" He keenly replied. The samurai then walked away, mumbling incoherently.

"…This'll learn him…it's what he deserves after putting my playboys in Karupin's litter box…"

The high-schoolers once again collectively sweat dropped.

--

Tomoka looked at her watch.

Yep. Right about now Kaido, Momo, Fuji and Taka were setting things up at the school. The others would be done at Ryoma's and would be heading over there soon. She would meet them there as soon as she finished up at Sakuno's.

She smirked; she had every thing she needed for the plan to go off without a hitch. She hid a key in her pocket as she bid her friend goodbye and slipped out the front door. She walked down the block calmly, but the minute she turned the corner she could no longer hold in her giddiness and gave a shout of delight. She then proceeded to sprint to the school in excitement.

--

"_Sakuno, I didn't mean to say what I did…I just wanted to hide my true feelings from you…Sakuno Ryuzaki… will you go out with me?" Ryoma said looking slightly nervous._

"_Oh Ryoma-kun! Yes! I like you too!" Sakuno eagerly replied_

_Ryoma smiled at her, a genuine smile, and then he slowly leaned forward to capture her lips in a tender kiss…_

_Holy Socks! _

Sakuno suddenly sat up strait in bed.

"Goodness gracious… what a dream…" She looked around the room groggily. Afterward she glanced at the clock before lying back down and pulling her comforter back over her body. This didn't last long however, she then shot back out in a millisecond.

"Is that really what time it is?! Why didn't my alarm go off?! Ahhhh!" She had forgotten to take a shower the previous night, so she promised herself that she would take one in the morning, other wise she'd look disgusting and dirty at school. With that in mind she ripped off her nightgown and leapt into the shower like she was being chased by an axe murderer.

Not caring that the water was freezing, she quickly lathered her hair and body with soap, rinsed off, and shot out of the shower to grab a towel, hastily drying herself as she went. She didn't have time to braid her hair; she just left it down, brushing out the knots swiftly. She charged out of her bathroom, clad only in a towel, to her room only to find it—

"LOCKED?!" Why was nothing going her way today? She struggled fruitlessly to open it for a few seconds before she gave up. She leaned against the oppressive door in defeat. Suddenly as if struck by divine intervention, she turned her to the right and saw two bags. She groaned, the powers-that-be hated her, she knew it. What was in the two bags was an outfit she could wear; unfortunately for her, it was the benighted 'sexy outfit' and the outrageous undergarments. For cleanliness reasons, she refused to re-wear the same pair of underwear two days in a row (justly so!), so she was stuck with the lacy thong.

Yes, the gods must really hate her.

--

"_Ryuzaki, I'm sorry I said that stuff… I didn't mean it…I don't mind you…I like hanging around with you way more that your crazy, fan-girl friend."_

"_It's okay Ryoma, I forgive you, have a Ponta!" Out of nowhere, the shy, pigtailed girl produced his favorite of all drinks, opened it for him and handed it to him. He drank happily; feeling more relaxed than he had for days._

"_What does it taste like? I've never had that flavor…" She questioned innocently, breaking him out of his reveries._

"_Uhh…strawberries…" He replied awkwardly, she was sitting rather close to him…_

"_Mmmm! I love strawberries!" She said cheerfully._

"_Well… do you want to taste it…?" He asked offering her half drunken can._

"_Sure…" Something about the way she said it threw him off guard, the next thing he knew, she was sitting in his lap, with her lips pressed against his, and her hands tangled in his hair._

_The only thing he could think at the moment was that she tasted better than Ponta…_

"SHOUNEN!! GET UP! YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!!" His oyaji's voice boomed through the house and ripped apart his dream. It was probably for the best, if his oyaji ever found out he was having dreams like those…he shuddered, he didn't even want to think about it.

Suddenly his father's words sunk in.

He swiftly jumped out of bed, scaring Karupin out of his skin in the process, and started shouting explicatives left and right as he ran about his room gathering the things he needed for school. What the hell happened to his alarm!?

--

She eventually decided that going to school in the outrageous outfit wouldn't be so bad; the teachers would tell her to change into her gym uniform, so she would, simple as that.

Though, as she received many stares as she ran down the sidewalk towards her school, she began to have second thoughts…

She still couldn't believe Tomoka talked her into getting this. It was a pair of jean short-shorts which, of course, attracted attention. But the thing that really got them staring was the daisy-duke-esc shirt she wore. It was a red, plaid, shrug that covered a white camisole, which barely reached her shorts…

How had Tomoka ever convinced her to buy this?!

She supposed the whole ensemble looked a little out of place with her school socks and shoes, and brief case to boot. At this point she was too angry at the world to care.

'_At least nothing else can go wrong…'_

Oh how wrong she was…

She was almost to the school, when she heard frantic curses and footsteps approaching. Wait a second, she recognized that voice! She whipped her head around in time to see Ryoma Echizen, his hair and clothes disheveled, approaching her fast.

--

Today wasn't his day at all, not only had he woken up late, but his father chose today of all days to remember that he is a monk. When he heard his son cursing angrily, he dumped water on him. He claimed it was to purify him; Ryoma thought it was in revenge for putting his porno-mags in Karupins litter box. (A/n: He's half right…)

After his 'cleansing' he ran upstairs to grab a new shirt and was almost out the door when his father asked him if he had breakfast. Of course he didn't have breakfast, he was late! When he told his father this, albeit less gently, he then refused to let Ryoma out of the house until he ate a quick breakfast. He claimed he was trying to be a good father, but once again Ryoma thought otherwise. However, as soon as he was out of the house he was running at top speeds; if you were to blink as he went by, you'd miss him. He was almost to school when a voice, though hushed, made him freeze in his tracks.

"Echizen…san…?" Well that didn't sound right.

He looked up to see Ryuzaki Sakuno; well at least he **thought** it was her.

"What are you wearing??" He said the first thing that came to mind. Her outfit looked like something his father would dream about, what he would dream about; though he would never admit it, even if his life was threatened.

Every one of her curves acquired through puberty shown through in that outfit. Her face was framed by her wavy auburn hair that now flew freely, instead of the usual braided pigtails. Her toned abs, from playing tennis, were revealed from where the hem of her camisole stopped, to expose the pale flesh of her stomach. In short; she looked good, too good.

Her face turned an extraordinary color of red before she fixed him with a glare.

"I should ask you the same thing!" Well, okay he wasn't his usual snappily dressed self. But that was a little harsh.

"I got up late! I didn't have time to-" She suddenly cut him off.

"To button your shirt?! To comb your hair?! You didn't even put on a belt!" Belt! He knew he was forgetting something!

"Well what about you, is wearing your underwear to school a new fashion craze?!" Maybe the fashion industry wasn't so bad…

Her face flushed once more before she turned around and started marching away from him.

He couldn't help but think how cute she looked like that… Of course that didn't mean he would let her get away with mouthing off to him. He was finally talking to her for the first time in two weeks; he didn't want things to end on another bad note if he could help it.

"Hey. Hey! Where do you think you're going? You can't just walk away from me!" He said trailing after her. Maybe not the best way to go about apologizing…

"We're late as it is Echizen-san! So, if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave." She had a point there.

Once they were on school grounds and started to approach the school, Ryoma decided his opinion should not go unheard.

"Your not staying in that, are you?" That's way too much flesh to show at high school filled with teenage boys! (A/n: aren't you one Ryoma-kun?)

"None of your business." She said grumpily. He smartly decided not to reply with his 'If you're wearing clothes like that **in public** it is my business.' Don't want to come on too strong.

"Won't you get in trouble?" He opted to use the less possessive, reply number two.

"I wanted to change, but if I'm going to be this late, I'll just wait until the teacher tells me to, then I'll have an excuse."

A quick image of their perverted, first period history teacher eyeing her legs, rapidly squashed the possibility of him supporting that idea.

"Just change now, I'll wait for you. We can be late together; we have the same 1st period."

"Huh? Really?" She said surprised.

--

Sakuno was shocked; Ryoma was acting weird this morning. Normally he wouldn't even blink an eye at what she looked like. Now he was suddenly the fashion Gestapo! Well she could be critical too!

"Fine. Then you can fix your own appearance up." She curtly replied. She was being a hypocrite though. She didn't really mind him looking that way; he actually looked…well…sexy. The years of tennis had not been unkind to his body; he had well toned pectorals and abs that were, in Tomoka's words, 'drool worthy'; she noticed this through his unbuttoned shirt. Inui's milk diet had helped a lot too; he now towered over her petite frame. His just-above-shoulder length black hair was messy, but almost stylishly so. His charming boyish features had hardened a bit into a more rugged manly look. No wonder half the student body thought he was hot, that didn't even exclude all males.

He looked like he was about to combat her with a sarcastic comment, but withheld it for unknown reasons.

"Whatever, let's just get going." He then started toward to the gym, with Sakuno trailing along silently.

--

What they both didn't know was that a figure trailed silently after them, watching their every move.

--

A/n: Ughhh! I was gonna make this a one chapter kinda thing, but It's getting too long…

I'll just make it into 2…Tell me what ya think! Oh and I take flames, just be gentle, all critiques are welcome!

chickatita


	2. In Action

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama

**April's Fools**

No… Way…

This couldn't be happening.

Her luck couldn't be _this_ bad!

Oh, but it was…

Sakuno stared blankly into her gym locker.

It was empty, she forgot her gym clothes. Someone up there really hated her.

--

'_What the hell?'_

That was the only thought that ran through Ryoma's head as Sakuno returned from the girl's locker room, looking the same as she was prior to entering, except for the utterly trodden look on her face.

"I thought you were changing." Translation:_ 'Get out of those damn clothes before someone _**other**_than me, sees you!'_

"I can't." she said overcome by the events of the morning.

"Well, why the hell not?!" Ryoma half yelled, exasperated. His slightly possessive attitude towards her was doing nothing to help the situation.

"My gym clothes aren't there…I could have sworn that I left them at school…" She mumbled, puzzled as to the cause of her predicament.

The idea of her strolling down the halls in that wholly, revealing outfit; which fit her all to well, he might add, made Ryoma's skin crawl with jealousy.

No! He wouldn't stand for it!

He growled, aggravated, as he jerkily yanked off the strap of his tennis bag and unzipped the main compartment. Sakuno continued to watch him with confused eyes. Finally, after a bit of shuffling around, he pulled out his Seigaku jacket and zipped the tennis bag back up.

"…your old Seigaku jacket?" She asked innocently. Before Sakuno could further question his actions he handed her the jacket.

Geez… did he have to spell it out for her?

"Put it on over your clothes, you won't get in as much trouble then." He explained.

Sakuno's face immediately brightened, and before she could stop herself she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck happily in a thankful hug.

"Oh thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done without you!" She suddenly realized what she was doing though, and stepped away from him as though she was burned.

"Th-thank you Echizen-san…" She bowed her head to hide her bright red complexion, and then immediately shot off in the direction of their classroom, leaving a shell-shocked Ryoma in her wake.

It took him a second to get over his 'Sakuno's-body-was-pressed-against-mine' induced shock, but once he did, he realized that she forgot the jacket in her haste.

"Hey! Wait up! You forgot the jacket! We're going to the same room anyways! Oi!" He called down the halls chasing after her.

--

He caught up with her outside the room and handed her the jacket, which she wrapped around her self and zipped up. She muttered thanks again, not looking him in the eye.

They peeked through the door; the teacher was giving a rather boring lesson on Japanese history. They both knew that they had to go in there.

Sakuno sighed, No time like the present.

She pushed open the door and stepped through the entrance, as many confused stares greeted her. She felt that she probably looked every bit as nervous and embarrassed as she felt at the moment. Ryoma followed silently; imposing his presence, as he normally did, with an annoyed look. To complete the illusion of his aloof visage, he pulled a hand through his ruffled hair in an uninterested way.

The teacher paused in his writing to eye the pair curiously.

"Well, well, well; Miss Ryuzaki, Mr. Echizen, nice of you to join us." He remarked. All the while he was eyeing Sakuno's exposed legs. If she was red before, it was nothing compared to now. She forgot that Mr. Kimura (A/n: Work with me people…he's the teacher from Azumanga Daioh, but I couldn't think of anything better…) was the school's perv…

"Miss Ryuzaki, would you like to remove that jacket, it's a demerit to not come to school dressed properly." He said, though Sakuno could tell he just wanted to see what she was, or wasn't, wearing underneath…

--

Well Mr. Kimura's attitude was just as Ryoma predicted. He thought about chucking a tennis ball at the so-called history teacher as he eyed Sakuno. But then he decided that any possible consequences that it held would be far worse than if he just continued to stand there and shoot death glares at everyone who fantasized about Sakuno's legs and butt. They were more interested in her lady lumps then what they were learning in class.

The jacket was big enough to cover her outfit, as he expected, but it went to her mid-thigh, where as her shorts ended somewhere much higher than that. Which basically made it look like that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. There inlayed the problem.

Never knew his silly old jacket would make him even more protective, than he usually was, over the girl that it currently covered.

He tried to block out his current subconscious mantra of 'My jacket; my property', while continuing to glare at every one.

--

"Uhm…if you don't mind…I'd prefer to keep it on sir…" Sakuno answered softly to his prior unanswered question.

"Oh… are you sure?" He asked; he actually looked a bit disappointed.

Sakuno absently wondered if had x-ray vision, or pervy vision, that helped him to see through her disguise.

"Yes, I'm sure Mr. Kimura" She brusquely said, her face hardening.

"Well, you can take your seats then. I'll have to mark you both down." He replied. "Next time, just finish up quickly; you still need to make it to class on time. And Ryoma don't forget your belt, that's just asking for trouble." He added with a smirk.

Sakuno looked confused as Ryoma's scowl deepened; Mr. Kimura's perverted sense of humor perfectly clear to him from years of experience with his oyaji. The rest of the class that understood snickered quietly.

They both then took their seats; Ryoma, one desk behind her.

--

Tomoka could barely contain her excitement as they both walked into the classroom; Sakuno wearing Ryoma's Seigaku jacket, and Ryoma wearing a glare that would send you six feet under, if looks could kill.

Knowing Ryoma, he had yet to apologize and instead worked to make sure she was covered when coming to class; he was as possessive and territorial as a moose in rutting season. (A/n: Did anyone else picture Ryoma-kun in antlers?)

So everything worked out as planned. Now came the harder parts, but its okay, she was up for a challenge, as were the rest of her crew. She wondered where Fuji was now, he was supposed to follow them and tape everything. This helped in two ways; one, they knew where the future couple was at all times and could figure out a way around any obstacles that came, and two; it made for great entertainment and future home videos.

--

The rest of first period history went by with out flaw; at least he supposed it did to the rest of the class. His face was sore from all the glaring he had to do.

There was a flaw to the jacket; it rode up when she sat down. So when she sat down the shorts, and consequently her well sculpted thighs, were open to the elements, luckily she was conscious of this and made sure to pull the jacket down as best she could every time it started to creep its way back up.

Sadly this didn't stop the other males in sight rage from staring, thus resulted in Ryoma's current face predicament.

'_Why couldn't she just frocking change!?'_ he thought bitterly. (A/n: Yes, I mean frocking, that isn't a typo…)

He was just Bull-shitting himself though; as much as he tried to hate all of the guys for staring at her, he couldn't blame them. She used to be a pretty little thing, cute; like a kitten in a stuffed-animal collection. But now she was beautiful and desirable. Since he thought that even before she wore that torturous outfit; he doubted he'd be able to sleep well that night.

As the bell rang and everyone started to leave, he encountered a conundrum. He didn't have the next few periods with Sakuno. Who would protect her from all those perverted bastards?!

An idea can to him, but it required strategy.

"Oi, Ryuzaki." He caught her while she was talking to Tomoka.

"Yes, Echizen-san?" Her little name switch routine was bothering him more than he'd like to admit.

"What do you have second period again?" He asked casually.

--

"Uhm Geometry, why?"

He was acting weird again. Since when did he care about her schedule?

"Well then, come on." He said grabbing her wrist, and tugging her toward the math and science part of the school.

"Huh? I thought you had Cooking with Tomoka next. Why are you going that way?" She asked suspiciously while gesturing toward a confused and worried looking Tomoka.

Wait, worried? Normally Tomoka would be beaming/drooling at the site of Ryoma. Before she could ask her friend about her curious expression Ryoma continued.

--

"Yeah, we're in the computer lab today; some online, recipe site. So I'm going that way too." Thank god this was true; otherwise he was sure that her fan-girl friend, who was currently looking at him in a weirder-than-normal way, would call him out on it.

Now he could walk her to her next couple of classes and have a semi-valid excuse. Beside the one in his head of protecting her from any more perverted eyes, that is.

He decided to walk slightly behind her. Not to look at her ass as some would accuse, but to simply block it from view, so others could not do so. That was all. Though he supposed no one would notice if he took a peek or two…

--

Tomoka inwardly jumped for joy; this wasn't part of the plan and the ad-libbing had worried her, but it turned out all the better.

Did he really think he was fooling anyone (besides Sakuno)? They may be in the computer lab for cooking, but this was still an excuse to 'protect his property'.

She then walked next to Sakuno eagerly, fully aware of the fact that Ryoma was walking behind them and herding wandering eyes away from Sakuno like a rabid sheep dog.

--

They got to her Geometry room and she thanked the two and bid them goodbye. She turned and dropped her books at her desk. She was about to sit down when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She quickly spun around to be greeted by the none other than the prince, himself.

"R—Echizen-san? What is it?" She caught herself before she could call him by his first name and reveal her still existing feelings for him.

Ryoma apparently didn't fail to notice this however and smirked. He leaned closer to her; so close that their noses were almost touching. But before they made contact, the smirking tennis prince leaned to the right. Sakuno felt his hot breath on her ear.

"Osakada and I will meet you after class." He whispered.

He then pulled away like nothing even happened and walked to the door and started through the exit, leaving Sakuno as red as Clifford. Just when Sakuno thought he would leave with out another word, he turned around and vociferously (A/n: My personal vocab word of the day-means loudly/pointedly) proclaimed -

"See you after class, Sakuno-chan." Then he slipped out the door, the same devilish smirk he had on his face after he just beat a particularly overconfident player at tennis.

Sakuno stared after him in a slight state of shock; she broke out of it when out of the corner of her eye she saw someone looking at her. She next glanced around the room self-consciously to see that everyone was looking at her with mixed expressions. Most girls looked jealous or shocked. She couldn't tell how any of the boys were feeling at the moment, because all of them refused to look at her. The minute she made eye contact with them, they would look away.

'_Wait a second, what did he call me!?'_

--

Ryoma smirked as he trotted to the computer lab carelessly.

'_That ought to take care of anyone trying to hit on her.'_

Like he said, his idea required strategy. Later, he'd probably have to deal with some annoying repercussions. But at least he took care of anyone bugging her for the moment.

Ryoma slowed as he reached the lab and sauntered in just before the bell rang.

--

Sakuno sat in her desk, an inner war raging in her head.

Why was Ryoma being weird!?

The teacher was just finishing up a caffeine-filled geometry sermon, when the wall phone in the classroom rang. She picked it up and excused herself, leaving the adolescents to work quietly on their homework. This was mostly ignored as the pupils immediately started talking amongst themselves. Sakuno though being the obedient student she was attempted to so the assigned work quietly.

Sakuno only got to the third problem before she became confused. How did you do this problem again? Which variable? Why the heck was this important anyway!?

After about five unproductive minutes of getting angry at the creator of geometry, she gave up attempting to figure it out on her own. She quietly tapped the shoulder of the boy in front of her.

"Hey, Sorry to bother you but I don't get this…" She half whispered; paying mind to the teacher instructions even when no one else was.

The boy half turned and started to say something, but the minute he made eye contact with her he seemed to freeze. He paled slightly and started to stutter an incomprehensible phrase.

Sakuno looked on in confusion as he continued to babble unintelligently. Being the kind and caring soul she was she began to worry for him.

"Tohru-kun, are you feeling okay; you look a little pale… Oh dear, are you feeling sick?!" Her hand instantly shot out to feel his forehead. Thought the moment she made contact, he shot away like he was burned; knocking over his chair in the process.

"I'm sorry, I don't know; just please stay away from me!" He yelped and shot to the opposite end of the room. The rest of the class watched with bamboozled expressions.

Sakuno was shocked; she stared at the place he sat just seconds before, in a daze. First Ryoma, now Tohru-kun.

'_Does everybody think badly of me?' _Ryoma's words still rang in her head tauntingly, making her heart feel heavy.

Sakuno was close to tears when she felt a light tap on her own shoulder. She looked around and was greeted by the gaze of Sakura, her geometry classmate and vice-president of the Ryoma fan club.

She smiled kindly at her and then pointed to her home work.

"Would you like some help with that Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno gave a shy smile before nodding thankfully.

--

Tomoka was sitting bored in the computer lab, staring blankly at the recipe site that her teacher recommended. Didn't she know that people had more important things to do than looking up recipes online!? She had a relationship to save damn it!

There was suddenly a knock at the computer lab door. The teacher got up from her desk at the back of the room and opened it curiously. There stood Momo grinning boyishly.

Once again Tomoka got a bit nervous; this wasn't part of the plan, why was he here?

"Oh, Momoshiro." The teacher said curiously. "What brings you to this room? Care to retake cooking?"

Momo visibly flinched.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm here simply to run errands. The tennis team coach wants you, something about a bake sale." Tomoka relaxed a bit; just a coincidence- nothing the worry about.

The teacher clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Wonderful, simply wonderful! I'll go right now, oh wait…" She glanced around nervously at her students. "Momo, would you watch them for me? Make sure they don't run amok and do their assigned-… uh well assignment?"

--

Momo's grin returned tenfold.

"It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Mihama. I'll make sure they do their work and don't cause any trouble." For emphasis, he leaned over and pinched Ryoma's cheek, who unfortunately sat in the front row.

"Well okay. I'll be off then!" With that she was off skipping down the hall in a mood that only baking could bring. Ryoma took the opportunity to smack Momo's hand away viciously. Said tormenter chuckled and surveyed the class authoritatively.

"Well, you heard the woman," he boomed "So get back to work or I'll sick Ryoma on you!" he then pointed to Ryoma, who gave him and the entire room a chilling glower. The stress and pressure of the day was finally getting to him. Hell, it wasn't even lunch yet. He shouldn't have to think this much for a **girl**.

A very cute girl…

Whom he happened to like…

Who was waltzing around in short-shorts and a belly dancing shirt…

Ah, the headache returns.

--

Tomoka giggled as Ryoma sighed laboriously. Then Momo slipped in to the chair next to her. He was smirking for all he's worth.

"So he's pretty much driving himself mad huh? At this point we don't even have to do anything." Tomoka could picture little devil horns poking out of Momo's head at the moment.

Before she could answer, her cell phone rang.

"_I know this pretty rave girl_

_Always think about her_

_And when she says 'Hi' to me_

_Butterflies go right through me_

_And when I see her dancin'_

_I wanna take a chance in_

_Getting a little closer_

_And maybe get to know her"_

She recognized the techno tune as hers immediately and went searching in her bag for it. She was thankful that the teacher was absent the moment when she saw the number on her caller id. It was her vice president of the Ryoma fan club; she only ever called with news of Ryoma. This had to be interesting considering Ryoma was here with her; it couldn't even wait till after class.

"Hello? Sakura?"

"President? Are you able to talk now?"

"Uh…yeah?" Tomoka thought about saying 'duh' for a second, but didn't want to tick off the possible owner of a juicy piece of Ryoma info.

"Sorry, I was too excited; I called without thinking."

"It's fine; the teacher is gone, but can we make this quick?"

"Of course…"

"…"

"…"

"…Well??" She was getting impatient; what was wrong with this girl?!

"Sorry. It's just difficult…"

"Just tell me real fast like ripping off a band-aid." Geez this girl was weird.

"Alright." She took a deep breath here and Tomoka sighed at her drama queen antics.

"Ready?" Tomoka said, in what she hoped was an encouraging manner.

"Yeah."

"Then spit it out already." She was getting a headache from all of this.

"Ryomaisgoingoutwithagirlfrommygeometryclassandsheiswearinghisjacketandhecalledherapetnameandcamerealclosetoherandeverything!!!" She said all in a rushed breath.

"…What?" -the hell? She took another deep dramatic breath and then repeated her previous statement at a more manageable pace.

"Ryoma is going out with a girl from my geometry class."

**"WHAT??!!"** Tomoka yelled completely forgetting about the class all around her. She then whipped around to stare at Ryoma in shock.

--

Sakuno sat happily after finishing her homework with the help of Sakura and her group of friends. After they all finished they just sat and girl talked. Sakuno was confused by the way they talked as if they knew something she was supposed to but didn't.

"So Sakuno, How are you and Ryoma-sama?" She was immediately confused by this.

"Um…not so good I guess…I think we're still kinda fighting." They were weren't they?

"How come he gave you his jacket then?"

"He was just being a gentleman. He didn't want me to compromise my modesty." She nodded to emphasize her point.

"What are you wearing underneath there anyways?" One of the girls ventured.

"Can't be the school uniform, we would be able to see the skirt."

Sakuno turned a vibrant pink before whispering quietly that it wasn't appropriate for school.

"Oh come on pleeeease??" They all whined. Sakuno sighed, never one to disappoint her friends, and started to unzip her jacket. When they all saw what she was wearing they all had different reactions.

"I would look SO much BETTER than her in that outfit!"

"Ha! Your fat ass? I think Sakuno fills it out perfectly."

"So he's jealous? That's so romantic!"

"Where did you get that outfit? If that's what he likes I'll buy it!"

"Wahhh! I wish I had a body like that!!"

"And here I thought you were a prude…"

"Well any guy would chase your tail if they saw you in that!"

"I thought we couldn't do that! That's cheating, isn't it?"

Sakuno was so overwhelmed she didn't even notice Sakura take out her phone and sneak away.

--

Fuji almost felt bad for poor Sakuno. But then he thought about the many things Ryoma would pay to get this tape back from him and he was no longer sorry.

He whipped out his walkie-talkie and tuned the dial to the correct frequency.

"Hey Inui. How's your stuff coming?"

There was nothing but evil laughter on the other end and Fuji couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Well I'm going to check up on the rest of the team okay?"

"Affirmative. Out."

Fuji then switched frequencies and tuned to Oishi.

"Oishi how are things over on your end." He said without hesitation.

"Fine. Eiji and I are keeping both teachers pretty distracted. They won't be back for awhile. But Fuji do you really think we should have done this without telling Tomoka? After all the whole scheme was her idea."

"True but she needed to think out of the box more. And besides we're going to a lot of trouble for this; I think we should get some sort of compensation for it."

"Fuji you're evil."

"Evil is in the eyes of the beholder, don't you think Oishi?" He heard Oishi mumble incoherently a bit more before replying.

"Okay. But at this point the situation is like a land mine; the slightest misstep is going to mess everything up."

"That makes it all the more exciting." Fuji said mischievously.

"You're crazy Fuji. But I can't think of any way things could get much worse, so we might as well go all out."

"Carry on then."

"Golden Pair, out."

--

A/n: Sorry it took so long. I was in summer school-not because I failed, but because I was in the hospital in the beginning of the school year and had to drop some classes. I was just making it up. But I'm done now, so I'll have way more time to write. I also was in a rush to post this chapter, so if you see any obvious mistakes-tell me.

In case you were wondering about the ring tone song. That song was pretty much my blood while writing this. Something about it makes me write…

I would once again like to apologize and thank everyone who reviewed. The ones who tell me what I've done wrong are good- they make me better. But the people who just say I like your story are great too. They keep me writing.

This in no way shape or form was gonna fit into one or two chapters. I should have realized that in the planning stage but I didn't. So now I'm guessing 3-4chapters but I promised to update faster and I shall follow through (hopefully). If there is any major wait coming I shall tell you guys. Thanks to all and happy reading.


	3. Mutiny

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama

**April's Fools**

"**What?!"**

Ryoma whirled around in his seat toward the source of the disturbance, to meet the gaze of none other than Tomoka.

'_What the hell is her problem?' _He thought angrily as his headache, which had gone away for the moment, returned with a vengeance. She continued to stare at him with that same shocked expression for a few seconds. Before Ryoma could question her actions, (Translation: Ask her if she had mental damage.) Her previous appearance slowly warped into a strange twisted smirk.

Okay, now he was scared. She looked like the mass murderer that only got off with community service.

She continued her conversation with the person she had on the phone; all the while, never breaking eye contact with Ryoma.

--

"President? Are you okay? President?"

'_Ryoma is going out with someone in Sakura's geometry class. Did they kiss or something? What if Sakuno saw?'_ These panicked thoughts ran through Tomoka's mind as she hurriedly assessed the situation.

'_Wait...Sakuno is in Sakura's geometry class...what if…?' _Realization dawned on her face.

"Sorry, lost myself for a second there. Please continue Sakura." She said a smirk slowly growing on her face as she started to understand the state of affairs.

"Okay, Well uhm…He walked her to class and she was wearing his Seigaku jacket." Tomoka wanted to laugh, she had overreacted for nothing. Whoops, she had forgotten to tell her Ryoma fan club members of the plan to set him up with Sakuno.

Then again, some things are better left unsaid…

"And then; he came really close to her and whispered something in her ear, we couldn't hear what." Did he? Well no wonder he told her to go ahead without him.

"And as if that wasn't shocking enough; before he left he called her Sakuno-chan, in front of everyone!!" Oooh this was juicy!

"I really felt bad for Tohru-kun; I think he has a big crush on her. But he has no chance if Ryoma-kun wants her. Remember, he nearly ripped off those guys heads for teasing his **friend** from the girl's tennis team. Think of what he'd do to people who hit on his girlfriend…" Tomoka had to refrain from telling her that the girl from the tennis team and his 'girlfriend' were one and the same.

"There's nothing we can do you know." Tomoka said comfortingly, though on her end she was holding back a laugh. "We should be glad that he didn't choose within the club, it would have caused wars." Tomoka never had any delusions that he would choose one of them, but as president she had better comfort the broken dreamers in the organization.

--

'_Who is she talking to?' _Ryoma thought adamantly. He was curious and worried. By the way she looked at him earlier; she must have gotten word of what he did before class. Man these girls work fast.

"It's okay Sakura-chan. She's nice enough. You don't have to plan anything drastic." What?! What were they going to do to his Sakuno?!

…

'His'?

Wait a second, that didn't come out right…

Gotta re-think that…

"Sakura-chan I really should go now; the teacher could be back any minute. Believe me she's nice. No. Don't try to set her up with Tohru-kun. You said it yourself; he's just going to have to get over his crush." Who's Tohru? What crush? More importantly where did he live and what should he kill him with?

He wondered what he would have to do for Tomoka to find out the answers to all of these good questions. She **was** a crazy fan-girl; maybe he could give her an old shoe or something…

"Okay. Bye Sakura." Said fan-girl then shut her phone with a satisfied look, and turned back to her computer like nothing happened. Seemingly unaware of the fact that everyone in the classroom, including a certain tennis prince, was still watching her.

--

When Tomoka first screamed out like that, he was ready to make a run for it. He was sure someone had squealed about Fuji's little plan. But when she turned her shocked face toward Ryoma, his heart started again.

Momoshiro wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he new that he would be filled in on the details later. Fuji told him to hide another camera in his jacket and record everything on Tomoka and Ryoma's end.

So he did what he was told and went to the classroom with the promise of a bake sale. And just like Fuji told him she would; Miss Mihama told him to watch the class while she went to talk to the coach of the tennis team.

Man that guy was scary sometimes.

--

When the bell finally, thankfully, mercifully, rang; Sakuno was ready to sprint through the door without looking back.

After she gave them a small peek at her outfit; chaos! Everyone was arguing and her poor body was jerked around roughly and unpleasantly man-handled. Worse yet; they wouldn't leave her alone! She kept getting more questions thrown at her than she could handle.

"Sakuno-chan, leave Ryoma-sama alone! Haven't you bothered him enough? You're shameless!"

"Uhm. I-"

"No! What if he really likes her! You don't wanna break his heart do you?"

"No. But I don't-"

"What did you do to capture the attention of our lovely prince? You're not even in the club!"

"I'm not-"

"The president said that its better this way! I mean what if one of us got chosen? Wars would start! Don't you think Sakuno-chan?"

"Please, I don't-"

"Sakura, you're such a suck up! Don't you think Sakuno-chan?"

"I really can't-"

"Did you blackmail him? Who'd want someone like you?"

"That's not-"

"Dressing like a slut isn't the only way to get his attention is it? Ryoma-sama isn't really that way is he?"

"I wouldn't-"

"I always thought your prude act was a little too perfect. I knew you must have been hiding something. Maybe Ryoma likes you because you're more experienced?"

"Hey! That's not-"

"Ha! Don't listen to her Saku-chan! She's just jealous because she can't even get a normal boyfriend. Let alone a god like Ryoma-sama…how would you rate him on the kissing scale?"

She was literally cornered when that glorious sound called the bell rang true. She immediately apologized and said that she really had to get to her next class, and that they should go to; if they wanted to get to get to their own classes on time.

They apparently listened to her as she was freed from her corner and able to gather her things. She was ready to charge through the door and attempt to forget the entire experience.

Only she had to wait for Tomoka…

And Ryoma-kun…how did that happen again? The whole day was going to fast for her…

Before she could contemplate it anymore said people walked through the room. One looking like Christmas came early and the other looking like he was walking to the gallows.

--

Ryoma tried to be nice, really he did.

His oyaji always told him that you could catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

"So…Osakada….who were you talking to in class…?" He tried casually.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?" She said cheekily before turning down the hall toward Sakuno's geometry room.

But who ever really wanted to catch flies anyway; normal people just want to kill them with fly-swatters! Okay, he tried nice; didn't work. So no more Mr. Nice-guy.

"Listen, you little-" He started angrily but before he could actually get to the insulting part she interrupted him.

"Temper, temper Echizen-san. Don't say such things without thinking them through first. You already tried that and look where it got you." He sighed.

So it all came back to his big mouth, eh? Well then, he needed all the help he could get. Even though it generally wasn't used for much more than monosyllabic answers and the occasional 'mada mada dane'; his oyaji told him it was a deadly weapon if used without care.

One of the few times the old man was right…

"I want her back…" The prince said scruffily.

"Pardon me?" Tomoka absently questioned.

"How do I make her forgive me?" He grumbled; he couldn't take this anymore. It was eating away inside of him; it was affecting daily activities, even tennis! And when tennis is affected, you know something needs to be done.

Tomoka rolled her eyes before replying "First of all you don't 'make' her do anything. You're lucky she even still talks to you after the stuff you said." Ah, at least she was being honest; though maybe he would have preferred a lie.

"So she'll never forgive me?" He asked dismally.

"Well, that's up to her; but you didn't let me finish." She said a small smile playing at her lips. "I may be persuaded to put in a good word, on one condition..." The grin went evil again.

"What's that…?" He said cautiously, rapidly rethinking his decision to ask her for help.

Her smile, though angelic in appearance, only screamed devil to Ryoma

--

"Tomo-chan! You won't believe what happened to me!" Sakuno started; relieved to finally unload the strange events of second period on somebody.

"Ah, Sorry Sakuno-chan but I wasted too much time getting here. If I want to get to Lit at the other end of the school on time I've gotta motor." Tomoka apologized quickly before bidding her friend goodbye and sprinting toward the opposite side of the school.

Sakuno mentally sighed. Great, she was left alone with the only someone she really didn't want to be with right now. The many bits of conversations she heard in the mob of girls during second period were still fresh in her head.

'_So, he's jealous?'_

'_How came he gave you his jacket then?'_

'_Haven't you bothered him enough?'_

'_Who'd want someone like you?'_

Ouch. That last one stung the most. Even if she knew that they were just jealous of the jacket, because Ryoma was gentlemen for her; it only helped take away even more of her already very low self-confidence.

"Echizen-san, you don't have to walk with me. I can get to class on my own." She said, awkwardly breaking the post-Tomoka silence that followed.

"Its okay, you have science right? Osakada mentioned it. My math class isn't that far from yours; it's only bit out of the way." He said calmly. Better to have her by his side, then to leave her all alone with the many perverts prowling around.

"No, please, I don't want to be any trouble." She insisted.

"I'm fine; it's just a little inconvenient. With my speed its nothing." He replied strolling down the halls at an easy pace. She stopped, as the horrible things the girls said earlier rushed to her head.

'_Shameless!'_

"I'm fine." She said looking down at her feet.

"I told you, it's not that big a deal." He said, getting frustrated as he slowed to a stop and turned to look at her

"No! You don't have to be nice to me because I'm the coach's granddaughter! I don't want to be a bother anymore! And I'm not a prude!" She yelled, before pushing past him toward her classroom.

As she ran past, he noticed she was crying.

Shit, he had hurt her again. He wasn't even sure how this time. He was just trying to walk her to class dammit! He then noticed the clock and started sprinting toward his classroom, for he now only had thirty seconds to get there.

'_Wait? When did I ever call her a prude?'_

--

Fuji chuckled quietly.

'_Poor Sakuno-chan, I'm sure she doesn't know what to think anymore. And Ryoma probably isn't helping with his attitude. These unfortunate kids __**need**__ us to help with their pitiable relationship.' _He thought coolly.

He, once again, pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"Golden Team, you there?" There was a bit of a delay before an excited voice answered.

"HOI HOI, I'M HERE, NYA! Eiji is here and ready for action! MAN, I feel like a secret agent, or someone from mission impossible, either way its SO COOL, NYA!!" Fuji sighed after rubbing a finger around in his ear to make sure he wasn't deaf.

"Eiji, didn't we decide to give Oishi the walkie-talkie?" He asked, as patient as if he were talking to a child.

"Yeah, But he's busy. He gave it to me to hold, nya." Eiji said guardedly.

Fuji mentally groaned, "Okay, then how are things going with you guys? Will it all be ready by next period?" Eiji's voice immediately brightened.

"Of course! We have it under control, Mrs. Akiho is telling us how to finish up the stage, and man that geometry teacher is bossy! And Miss Mihama is making the entire tennis team bake like the wind. I kinda feel bad for Momo. It's like déjà-vu all over again! Nya!"

"Good, Then I'll leave you to your own devices. Oh, would you contact Inui and tell him he has until the end of sixth period and it better not be obvious when he gets there."

"Okie-dokie-artichokie! Eji out! Nya!" Eiji chirped before the frequency went dead.

'_Sakuno-chan and Ryoma will never know what hit them.'_ Fuji thought eagerly before following after Ryoma.

--

Sakuno trudged slowly down the halls misery showing clearly on her face.

'_Mou, he probably thinks I am an irritating little monster now. Ryoma-kun was just being polite and I yelled strange things at him.' _She thought gloomily as her feet slowly carried her to her locker. Science had been wretched enough. The teacher had called on her row that day and she had forgotten her notes at home in all the excitement of the morning. She couldn't remember anything; the teacher was very disappointed. This added to Sakuno's already bad day.

"Sakuno, there you are! I was looking for you. Let's go to lunch together." Tomoka said happily.

"Hi, Tomo-chan. Okay." She replied, distracted.

This didn't go unnoticed my Tomoka.

"You okay Saku-chan? What happened?" Sakuno gave a small relieved smile before relaying to her the entire morning's events.

--

Tomoka of course wasn't surprised by some of the things she said. She still tried to act like she was all the same. But what she was genuinely surprised about was some of the things her club members said to Sakuno. She knew there would be some hard feelings, but she never thought they would be that vicious.

"It's okay Saku-chan, they're just jealous." She said comfortingly as they walked to lunch.

"That's what everybody says, but they have nothing to be jealous of. Ryoma-kun is a gentleman and would probably have given the jacket to anyone in my position." Tomoka mentally rolled her eyes at this. What this girl that dense? Or was Ryoma really that good at hiding his feelings? It only took a second to decide.

'_No. Sakuno is just __**really**__ dense…'_

That was her last thought before they walked through the doors to the cafeteria. Then her mind went blank as she tried to register the sight in front of her.

"What-"

--

'_-the hell?'_

Ryoma stared blankly at the sign that hung from the ceiling: **"The Tennis Team is Proud to Present: Karaoke and Bake Sale! Buy Something Sweet and then Sing a Sweet Song!" **

There was a newly built stage at the opposite end of the cafeteria where a sophomore boy was currently singing 'Somebody Told Me' by The Killers.

Before his brain could even begin to comprehend what was going on he heard someone call to him.

"Hoi hoi! Ochibi-chan!! Do you like it? Huh? Do you Nya?" Eiji twittered excitedly.

"Calm down Eiji, I think he's a bit overwhelmed at the moment." Oishi fussed.

"What…what did you guys do…?" Ryoma asked still in shock.

"It was Fuji's idea. He convinced Tezuka and the coach. We worked all this morning on it. I think it turned out pretty well, don't you?" Oishi calmly replied.

"Hoi hoi! There's Tomo-chan and Saku-chan! Talk to you later Ochibi, Nya!" With that the other half of the golden pair sprinted toward the second entry-way to the cafeteria. Oishi rolled his eyes before turning back to Ryoma.

"You're part of the team too. So you can help Taka sell. He's over there by the vending machines. He'll give you an apron." Oishi then gestured toward the clothing that currently occupied his person. It was a green apron with a neon-yellow button secured to it; proudly proclaiming in bold black print; 'Ask me, I can help!'

Ryoma started at the apron as if it were a disease he wouldn't like to catch.

"You're kidding right?"

--

"Nya!"

That was only warning Sakuno got before she was pounced on and enveloped in a hug by a hyperactive; assumedly, sugar-high Eiji.

"Hoi hoi! Saku-chan, look! Before you always made yummy snacks for us, now we're making them for you! Nya!" Eiji said excitedly, while nuzzling the top of the madly blushing freshman's head.

"Geez, Eiji. You act like you haven't seen Sakuno in years." Fuji said, emerging from the crowd of people.

"Well, I haven't seen Saku-chan in _**forever**_! Nya!" Eiji defended.

"It was just the weekend; you saw her on Friday." Fuji returned with a dry look.

"A very loooong weekend nya…"

"Uhm. Kikumaru-sempai, if I may interrupt?" Sakuno started politely.

"Nooooo! No, Kikumaru! Eiji!" He whined childishly. Sakuno blushed but continued anyway.

"Okay uhm, Eiji-sempai. What's going on here? I didn't hear about any bake sale before now…" Sakuno asked awkwardly; embarrassed by the possibility that she was the only one not listening.

"Yeah Eiji, do tell us; what is going on?" Tomoka suddenly cut in sharply; glaring at the seniors for all she was worth.

'_What has gotten into her?'_ Sakuno thought warily.

"Eiji, why don't you show Sakuno around, while I talk to Tomoka, okay?" Fuji offered easily. Huh? What does he want to talk to Tomo-chan about?

"Roger-dodger! Nya! Come on Saku-chan!" Eiji said excitedly, while grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the sales booths.

--

Tomoka waited until Sakuno and Eiji were completely out of hearing range before she turned and gave Fuji her deadliest look.

"What the hell, do you think you're _**doing**_?" She whispered venomously.

"Why, I think I'm running a fundraiser. Why on earth do you ask?" Fuji said innocently.

"Where did you get the idea for this little **fundraiser**? I'm sure I don't ever recall you mentioning it in the planning stage." She ground out through gritted teeth.

"Just a little ad-libbing. I didn't think you really thought-out-of-the-box much. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring." Fuji then smiled pleasantly as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"You could have told me about your 'ad-lib'." Tomoka grumbled, knowing that there was nothing she could do about it at this point.

"I could have, but where would the fun be in that?" He smirked.

"Any more of your 'out-of-the-box-thoughts' I should know about? Before I'm forced to give you a fat lip, that is." She threatened, as she punched her right fist into the palm of her opposite hand.

Tomoka never thought for a second that she could beat Fuji in a fight; he wasn't a regular on the tennis team by coincidence; he was strong and fast. But if they did have to fight, she would leave her mark and make sure that he always remembered who he fought.

"Now, now, Tomo-chan lets not get violent." As he said this though, his eyes opened to reveal shocking blue irises. "I would hate to spoil our entire plan with a petty argument."

Dazed by the icy-eyed stare; she agreed.

"I was going to make it a surprise, but since it seems to mean so much to you; I'll tell you what the plan is…" Tomoka nodded eagerly and leaned in to listen intently.

--

--

A/n: Whoo! Ch3 is done! I got a little emo in the middle there. I hope you all didn't think I lost my sense of humor. ; p

Well, was that soon enough for you? Yeppers, I said I'd update soon and I followed through :3

I didn't put any author's notes in the story this time. I didn't think there was that many to begin with (I only counted 6 total in ch1 and 2) but I guess if you guys really think so then it just confirms what people have been telling me all along; I can't keep my big bazoo shut- even what I'm typing instead of talking.

-.-;; Oh foofa…

Well thank you for all of the lovely reviews. The day after I posted the 2nd chapter I checked my mail and almost fell out of my chair from all of the reviews. Now I'd like to say thanks to all these people for shamelessly stroking my ego:

**astig3422** (My first Reviewer! squee! Well I'm glad you liked it! I hope some of the mysteries have been solved for you and don't worry there's a few more to come… I don't think Ryoma-kun and Sakuno will like these…. ;3)

**Absh **(I know, there are so many possibilities!)

**matsukanishi09 **(I do love a perverted Ryoma -//.//- I mean you gotta wonder what he's really thinking when he's being all cool and mysterious…)

**Epiff Annie **(Thank you, that's what I was going for; a cute little love story :3)

**Ryomastoy **( Seriously?! Wootness! Thank you, I was kinda worried that I was typing nonsensical things; and no one understood me so they gave me pity reviews…don't you think there must be a group out there that reads every story and reviews; just to encourage the future writers of the world…no? Just me then…-.-;;)

**Ryoma-sama **(Thank you and I hope you read the rest of the story. In the immortal words of Edna Mode from 'The Incredibles' "Stop it dah-ling, you're making me blush!" :3)

**little miss demosthenes** (Thank you for your expertise. And I did make your suggested grammatical changes to the first chapter.)

**SesshoumaruXRin** (I hope I didn't take too long and I'm all for the pairing in your name! I know how you feel; while I was writing part of this story I kept giggling at the computer and my parents thought I was going crazy. I had to tell them "Sorry, I'm a very emotional writer…" lol)

**The Gandhara** (Thank you for the useful suggestion; I'll keep it in mind in the future. :3)

**speadee** (I've loved Scooby since I was little! Sometimes I can't help but throw some of the classic scenes into my story.)

**keikeiaznqueen** (Writing about their equally hectic mornings was one of my favorite parts as well.)

**Car2nfreak** (Really:)) thank you so much! Hoo, I'm blushing! I have a friend with a real live case of it. He calls it his cleavage radar…which I think Nanjirou either has or wants…)

**Fullmoon05** (I laughed at the destruction of Nanjirou's porno mags, but when I think about someone disposing of my mangas that way shutters I almost feel bad for the guy…And thank you for telling me that, I'll have to remember to be clearer about parts like that one.)

**CinveXrtedO** (I have to say that you were one of the people that kick started me into writing the rest of the story again, so for that; I thank you. bows to you hail the almighty reviewer!)

**faeriesprak** (Thank you! Comments like yours are the blood that fuel my writers veins)

**summer-loven-2** (This is how I wanted you to feel. You may take some things from my story if you tell me and credit me. I look forward to reading your story! Is it 'The other Side' one? I shall read it anyways!)

**ahhmeii** (I always thought it was cute when ever Ryoma was possessive. So I usually stick it in my chapters somewhere. Sometimes I like to look for the moments later; like in 'Where's Waldo?' :3)

**Princess Sakura93** (I had a lot of fun writing about a plotting Fuji. Don't worry there's more Fuji-induced situations later!)

**JayleeJ** (After I read your review, my family and friends say I was impossible to deal with for days; to quote my father 'her head was so big, she could barely fit through the door!' What can I say, I'm easy to please.)

**ThReE gIrLs WiTh PoCkY** (lol. I agree whole-heartedly.)

**lil.ramen.lover** (Thank you! And I'm glad you liked it. Please tell me what you think of this chapter.)

**CarolzofBellz** (Heh, I love leaving little cliffies. Not to be mean, just to keep my readers thinking and wanting more. I would definitely like to hear your opinion of this chapter!)

**hizmit12-waterlilly3721 (**I have to say, I read your profile and I totally fell for that 'you know you live in 2007…' thing. Thank you for the review and entertainment. ;3 )

**Torogi **(Isn't he though? Every time I tried to think of a name for him; nothing else seemed to fit. And I must say I'm curious about your name…Is it from a show? Or book?)

**10xpandax10** (Thanks! I couldn't help but put that in. It seemed like such a Momo-ish thing to do.)

**hopefully helpful** (You were helpful! All comments and suggestions are appreciated, which sounds cheesy, but if I want to be a professional then I have to improve. Right now though I have a ways to go…durn Ryoma-kun…)

**Anonymous** (Hehe I always like anonymous reviews. They make me feel mysterious. Thank you and I'm already working on the 4th chapter.)

**mALdiTa's Kiss** (Mweehee!squee …Sorry, your review was too cute for words…)

**ryosakulove** (I'm glad you liked it! And as you can plainly see I'm all for the pairing in your name.)

**pretty please?** (Awww! Your name just makes me wanna update! I promise to get the next chapter up as soon as I can!)

**SaTaN's LiTtLe DeViL** (o.0! BREATHE NESSA! whoo you made me nervous there; I held my breath while reading your review! Thank you for you praises, there been many a time I've ran around my room in excitement for a story. After reading your review I almost wanted to do it there and then….well, maybe a quick one won't hurt…runs around room wheeeee!...okay I'm done :3)

**true-slytherin123** (Thank you, I feel honored! Though I am a bit curious as to how you came across my story. Your profile didn't say anything about you liking PoT…-.-;; sorry, I'm just nosey…)

--

Well that's all for now. Please, if I forgot you, or didn't answer your question or anything; tell me and I'll fix it as soon as I can! Au revior!

JA NE:3 x3


	4. Bang the Doldrums

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama

**April's Fools**

He still wasn't quite sure how they did it.

All he knew was that he wasn't wearing the apron before he talked to Taka…

…and now he was.

He didn't see anyone slipping it over his head or feel anybody touch him…

…It was just there.

How it got there was still a mystery.

Before Ryoma could contemplate this quandry any further, he heard an all too familiar voice coming closer.

"Eiji-sempai, I do not think we will get separated in this crowd. You do not need to hold me like this." Sakuno's voice suggested awkwardly.

Ryoma's head lashed around so fast he felt a minor case of whip-lash coming on. The site that greeted didn't please him in the slightest.

Eiji had his right arm wrapped snuggly around Sakuno's petite frame and was pressing her gently to his chest. Her face was seemingly stained a bright red, which turned even darker as Eiji proceeded to envelop her in one of his bear hugs and nuzzled his cheek against her hair.

"Nya! Saku-chan! You're soooo cute!!"

Ryoma started trembling with rage. His previously suppressed mantra came back with retribution and started howling inside his head.

'_DON'T YOU SEE THE JACKET YOU BASTARD!?! _**MY**_ JACKET, _**MY **_SAKUNO, _**MINE**_!!'_

Of course he didn't say this out loud. That would cause problems; didn't Osakada tell him that his own mouth got him into more trouble than anything?

"Hoi hoi, There's Taka and Ochibi, nya! Hi!" Eiji shouted excitedly before dragging Sakuno over to the booth they were currently working at.

"Hey, Sakuno! Haven't talked to you for awhile; how come you don't come to practice much anymore?" Taka asked innocently. Ryoma knew he was full of it though; Momo and Eiji had told everyone on the team what had happened.

"Sorry Kawamura-sempai. I've just been very busy lately." She replied avoiding his and Taka's gaze.

"Well, if you're busy; you're busy! Nothing can change that, but please don't forget about us back on the tennis team who miss your lovely company." He then flashed her a charming smile.

"Nya! Stop hitting on my date Taka! We came here for food; you people are vendors-sell something!" Eiji demanded grumpily.

Ryoma jerked horribly at the word 'date'.

"Nya! How 'bout the strawberry one?" He then pointed to a small pink-iced cake with a strawberry on top. "You like strawberries don't you Saku-chan?" Sakuno blushed prettily.

"Uhm yeah, it's one of my favorites." Even though he was pissed as all hell at the moment; he couldn't help but recall his dream as she said this. Maybe he should buy her a Ponta after he got around to apologizing…

"Well then we'll take it, Nya! Taka, add it to my tab!" Takashi grinned and nodded before handing the cake to Sakuno. She immediately started to fret.

"Oh no! I couldn't possibly just take it! I have money; I can pay for my own. Please, I can't accept this!" Ryoma gave a small smile and rolled his eyes at this; why could she never just accept the damn gift and be done with it? Though he had to admit; she was cute when she fussed like that.

"Nya! We insist! You always make us snacks, now it's our turn!" Eiji said happily.

"Thank you, all of you. This is really nice." Sakuno then gave a small smile to the tennis trio. Ryoma felt his heart skip a beat.

"Only something sweet, for our something sweet, Nya!" Eiji said, hugging her again.

All of his previous warm and fuzzy thoughts immediately turned murderous, and he sent Eiji the death glare of the century.

"Oh, there's Tomo-chan. I'm going to go talk to her, okay?" Sakuno said happily before trotting off toward her friend. The regulars watched and waved her off seemingly happy and calm. But the minute she was gone, Eiji turned to Ryoma and said mischievously.

"That, Ochibi-chan, is how you treat a girl, nya."

In that instant he didn't care what the consequences were; he just wanted to wipe that smug look off of the toothpaste-loving tennis player's face for good. So without a second thought he picked up the nearest cake from his hand, wound up, and hurled it with Herculean strength and precision, aiming right at Eiji's face.

Unfortunately for him; said target ducked expertly from years of experience with rogue balls on the tennis courts, and the small cake soared over his head…

…and smacked right into the back of Tezuka's.

'_Oh shit.'_

The whole gym went silent. Even the senior girl who was currently singing Madonna's 'Hung Up' immediately stopped the tape and waited with bated breath.

The tennis captain slowly turned his head; Ryoma couldn't help but notice that he could turn it almost all the way around like an owl. Tezuka stared at them with his laser glare for a second, before straitening out his body and facing them fully. He couldn't be sure; but Ryoma thought he noticed some of the ice-cream cakes melting right then and there; he knew that he felt like he was going to burst into flames.

'_Holy hell, he's gonna kill me!'_ Ryoma thought, panicking. _'Maybe if I admit to it and say it was an accident he'll go easy on me...'_

The tennis captain slowly reached back and ran his fingers through his frosting-covered hair. He slowly pulled the hand back and examined the fingers. Then he cracked his neck sickeningly before he spoke.

"Who did this?" It was a simple question; barely more than two words. But the moment it went through his ears into his cerebellum; it embedded itself there forever, to haunt him in his nightmares during the darkest part of the night.

Without a second thought; with his body fueled on the pure animal instinct to escape with his life; he swung his right arm out strait as a board with his hand folded into a tight fist. That is except for his lone fore-finger which was extended; pointing straight to Eiji. His cat-like eyes then flicked toward the person in question only to reveal that they mirrored each other. Ryoma pointing at Eiji, while Eiji pointed to Ryoma. Both of the tennis regulars looked at each other knowing that their fates were sealed. Ryoma slowly moved his gaze to demon captain himself; only to realize that his demonic gaze wasn't focused on him or Eiji for that matter. It was focused solely on the poor character that got caught smack-dab in the middle of their little pointing fest.

Kaoru Kaido.

'_Kaido's dead…' _Both of the regulars thought in perfect harmony. _'But at least it isn't me…'_

Kunimitsu Tezuka seemed to grow ten-times his normal size, and appeared to be enveloped in flames. His eyes narrowed and suddenly looked snake-like, and his hair whipped around in non-existent wind; winding and twisting around like Medusa's serpent locks.

"Kaido, give me fifty laps." That's it? They entire team usually had to run that much when Tezuka was in his normal bad mood. Kaido looked slightly relieved, but it didn't last long. "Around Japan." Kaido paled, seeing that he was totally serious.

"After that, give me two-thousand push-ups." His arms were gonna fall off. "And finish your laps by Friday; you're making me breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week after that." Kaido nodded fearfully and was about to do as he was told before he was stopped by the captain's voice once again.

"Sorry, I wasn't done yet. I want you to video-tape every minute of it too; not because I don't trust you." Here he gave the poor victim a particularly vicious look. "But because I want to record all of your blood sweat and tears for future generations who think they can get away with pissing me off. Got it? Now go!" He finished with a snarl.

Kaido took off like he had the devil on his heels.

After that everyone didn't move or take a breath until Tezuka slowly walked out of the cafeteria to the bathroom to clean up. As soon as the door shut behind him, everything started up as if nothing had happened. People continued to talk and laugh, vendors continued to sell, and Ryoma's heart started again.

'_Well so much for admitting to it…'_

--

Sakuno had known Tezuka ever since he first joined the tennis team during his first year of middle school. She had only seen him that angry twice before. And both previous times, the person responsible was sent to the hospital. She had no doubt that Kaido would end up in a similar state.

She felt horrible for the poor guy, but she was glad that Ryoma was spared. She saw him throw the cake; she did not know why he threw it, but she was glad he wasn't killed. She waited a few seconds before turning back to Tomoka.

"Ha ha, I forgot how scary Kunimitsu-niisan could be." Sakuno laughed nervously.

"It never fails to baffle me how you can stand to call him Kunimitsu-niisan without bursting into laughter…or flames for that matter…" Tomoka said giving her an incredulous look.

"I've known some of the regulars longer than I've know you Tomo-chan!" Sakuno defended.

"Oh yeah, I forgot; Tezuka used to baby-sit you." She observed mockingly.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Not!"

"So!" This heated argument continued for a bit before Sakuno decidedly surrendered; and presented half of her cake as a peace-offering.

"So, what did Fuji want to talk to you about?" Sakuno asked innocently. As they both sat at a lunch table and munched on her 'gift from the tennis team.'

--

Tomoka was expecting the question since Fuji first asked to talk to her. Sakuno may be dense in the romance department, but she's very perceptive when it came to her friends and family. The minute something was wrong with Tomoka; she could pick up on it when no one else could.

So armed with the knowledge of her best-friend's nature; she and Fuji had worked together to prepare her answer.

"You know I'm in cooking right? Well the teacher talked about this extra credit project and baking cakes to help the tennis team. She said Fuji was in charge of this project so I asked him if I could do anything to help. He said no, so I was just a little peeved that I lost out on the extra credit opportunity; god knows I need it in that class." Tomoka recited without hesitation.

"Well, how come he said no in the first place?" She questioned. They had prepared an answer for any potential question Sakuno could possibly throw at them, likely or not; so this was almost a no-brainer.

"Fuji wanted it to be a surprise; my big mouth's reputation precedes me…" Tomoka laughed despite of herself. Sakuno gave her a small smile before saying, "Tomo-chan your mouth gets you into more trouble than anything."

Now that sounded familiar. Didn't she give similar advice to Ryoma a little while ago? Man, Sakuno was really rubbing off on her…

Before she could think of a comeback, a loud voice boomed over the Karaoke speakers. All heads turned toward the stage to see Momo; microphone in hand as a song started to play.

"_I wrote, a goodbye note  
in lipstick on your arm  
when you passed out  
I couldn't bring myself to call  
except to call it quits"_

Tomoka laughed quietly at him. What a doof. Eiji joined in unofficially; grabbing the microphone so he and Momo could both sing.

_"Best friends, ex-friends to the end  
Better off as lovers and not the other way around  
Racing through the city, windows down  
in the back of yellow checkered cars_

They sounded nothing like Fall Out Boy. But they didn't sound half bad together; their voices blended well. The chorus was what held them back at the moment; at first they tried to sing the words, but then they just ended up blending them into something like a pirate says; 'yo ho ho, ohhhhhh'.

_"Best friends, ex-friends to the end  
Better off as lovers and not the other way around_

Tomoka listened as they both badly squeaked badly on the last notes. No, they weren't bad; but they should definitely stick to tennis.

Of course being the popular guys they were; they got a standing ovation anyways. Tomoka had to smile, but also couldn't help rolling her eyes. With these guys as roll-models it's no wonder the prince has romantic issues.

She turned her head toward Sakuno and saw her smiling and laughing; still clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Her grin widened; she hadn't seen her best friend this happy since 'the incident' first happened.

'_Now might be the perfect time…'_

--

Fuji was smiling at his fellow tennis players, when he sensed someone watching him. He turned around to see Tomoka; she shrugged her shoulders and tipped her head to the side in a questioning manner.

Fuji smirked and nodded encouragingly. But before Tomoka did anything; a cold chill went down Fuji's spine.

'_Something's wrong?'_

He whipped his head around the room all of his senses poised and alert. He didn't have to for long, however. A second or two later, a loud, excited voice filled the entire cafeteria; one could heard it even above the loud chatter and applause. The voice was then followed by a few crashes.

"BURNING!!!" Oh great, Taka found his racquet.

He looked back toward Tomoka and shook his head. She nodded in understanding before turning toward the source of the loud voice like the rest of the crowd.

Fuji was about to go intervene went he once again felt someone watching him. He whipped around slightly annoyed; but when he saw who it was, he smiled coyly.

'_Perfect.'_ He thought excitedly before strolling toward the person.

--

This was the last time Ryoma ever decided to help someone out.

He went to get a Ponta; a normally simple everyday activity. But this time he noticed a curiously shaped package wedged in between the vending machines. So, deciding to be a kind person; he freed it from its prison. He inspected the parcel and lo and behold; it had Takashi Kawamura's name on it.

Thinking there might be something important in it; he kindly returned it to the male in question.

"This your's, Taka?" He had questioned innocently.

"Hmmm, it doesn't look familiar, but I suppose it does have my name on it. Maybe I should see what's inside?" He had looked inside curiously. "Hey! It's my racquet! But what's it doing in here?" He said as he reached in to pull it out.

Ryoma had realized too late what he had done and made a desperate last minute leap for the box; but he didn't make it in time.

Taka then let out a mighty roar of his usual battle cry. That was the last thing he knew before Takashi's yellow racquet slammed into one of the shelves which held the pastries. It wobbled dangerously before tipping over right on top of Ryoma. Then everything went frosting-covered.

Then next thing he knew; the shelf was being lifted off of him by an amused-looking Momoshiro.

"You okay there Echizen? DANISH got your tongue?" He chuckled, barely holding back laughter.

"Shut-up, Momo."

"Yeah nya, you better watch out; he might POUND-CAKE you." Eiji chimed in.

"Shut-UP, Eiji." Ryoma said, getting up from his pastry prison, unfortunately he slipped on a long-john.

"Be careful Ochibi. DOUGHNUT hurt yourself." Momo said. Ryoma growled in frustration and then kicked the offending pastry away.

"That's right Ochibi, show it whose boss; BUNT it away! Nya!" Eiji laughed.

"SHUT-UP, Guys."

"He's fine Eiji; he's a strong guy; this is MUFFIN to him." Momo said, now full out laughing.

"SCREW YOU GUYS!" He yelled angrily.

"Ryoma Echizen! Such language, Nya! We're going to have to SCONE you!" Eiji gasped with laughter, now quite red in the face; tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

Ryoma lashed out angrily in his frustration.

"Echizen, calm down; don't get FROSTED."

"Sorry nya, we didn't mean to be CRUMBY." They both continued to laugh tears pouring down their faces.

He became fed-up with them at this point and stomped off in a huff. The regulars then stopped laughing and looked at each other nervously.

"Think we were too rough on him, nya?"

"Nah; he's a tough kid. We didn't need to 'sugar coat' it." At this they both burst into laughter for a third time.

--

Tomoka looked on, apprehensively.

"What do we do know Fuji? The period's is just about over; we can't get Sakuno to sing now." Fuji sighed.

"Man, what a waste this was." All that time spent convincing the captain and coach. 'It's April Fool's day on Monday; let's do something silly to celebrate.' All for naught.

"Hey look, Sakuno's going after him." Maybe this will work after all.

--

Ryoma was so angry that he didn't even realize that he walked out the wrong door; until it was too late to turn back and look like an idiot. So now he was by the tennis courts using the sink to attempt to wash off a bit. He had almost gotten everything out of his hair when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Yeah, yeah; come to laugh at me some more? You jerks." He snapped angrily.

"No, but I have some towels." A quiet, feminine voice replied.

Ryoma stiffened and whipped around; only to be greeted by the sight of Sakuno holding out a white fluffy towel; probably one from the girl's locker room.

"Oh...uh thanks…I guess…" He said, awkwardly taking the towel.

"No problem." She said, giving him a warm smile. "Oh, here!" She pulled out a bento from under the big pile of towels she was holding. "You can have this to eat." She blushed, prettily.

"Huh? But, Isn't that your lunch?" What? Why the hell did he just ask that? He was starving! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

"Yeah, but I already ate; courtesy of the regulars. But you didn't get a chance to eat, did you?"

"Uh no. I was…uh busy." He said uncomfortably. They were silent after that; Sakuno waited until Ryoma was done with the sink before they both walked over to a nearby tree and sat under it. Ryoma immediately started to eat ravenously.

"This… is good." He managed in between bites.

"I'm glad you like it; I made it myself." She smiled warmly again. "Oh, wait. Are you thirsty? I could go and buy you a Ponta." With that she started to dig out her wallet.

"No. This is fine; I'm not thirsty." He didn't think he could take it; with that dream still fresh in his mind.

"Oh? O-ok…I guess I'll go then…" She said awkwardly; probably wondering why he would turn down his favorite of all drinks. She then got up and started to walk away.

"Wait! I gotta tell you something" He called out before she could leave. Might as well apologize now while I have the chance.

"What is it Echizen-san?" _Yeah, that's gotta stop; the formality is killing me. Can't believe my own name is driving me this nuts…_

"Well…uh…I just…uh…" Wow, this was way harder than he thought. He swallowed audibly before trying again. "I… just wanted...uh…wanted to say…" His voice squeaked and he felt a bit of sweat on his brow. Damn hormones. Was it getting hot here? Or was that him…?

"Are you feeling okay Echizen-san?" Sakuno asked worriedly. God, was she questioning his sanity? At this point he certainly was. Okay, one last try; gotta say it while he still had the chance.

"Ne, Ryuuzaki; I just wanted…to tell you …that I'm so-" With that the bell rang effectively cutting him off.

"Ah! I'm sorry Echizen-san; but I have to get to class, goodbye!" With that she was off. Ryoma watched in semi-shock and she ran back into the cafeteria; no doubt toward her locker to gather supplies for her next class.

Ryoma groaned and leaned back; smacking his head hard against the tree in the process.

'_Damn you, school bell ringer!'_ he thought venomously. Now consequently thinking about a hunched back teacher in the school office by the bell controls; he slouched off to his next class in a huff. No closer to apologizing than he was at the beginning of the day.

--

--

A/n: Haha. This chapter was fun to write. If you didn't get the puns then I totally understand; I was stretching it with something of them. But when I was writing it I couldn't help but think that Momo and Eiji would milk the situation and try to be punny…hehe punny…sorry.

I wrote the Tezuka part while listening to my father watch a 'shark week' show on discovery…I don't know if you could tell or not…-.-;; oh and i am very much aware of the fact that the entire song is not there. I didn't want to take up to much space; I consider that cheating unless it's really important to that story.

Well I don't know when the next chapter will be out; I'm going to be traveling without access to a computer. But I will try to get it up as soon as I can. Don't lose faith in me! Thank you and good night. Chickatita OUT: 3

Review Replies:

**ryosakulove:** When you said 'coocoo' I couldn't help but think of a certain cereal brand with a certain bird on it…Thank you for being patient though, I'm sorry in advance for making you wait for the next chapter!

**Ryoma-sama:** (Wince) Ah, I knew that would come up; I was having a little trouble with that part and what I should do with it. I typed myself into quite a few corners thanks to it. Thank you for you observation and praises!

**ThReE gIrLs WiTh PoCkY:** I know! I was a little frustrated with how long it became; but I had a little mind-vomit at the beginning. I just started writing and putting whatever I wanted in it and didn't think some things through. So now it became long because I had to fill in details and solve mysteries and what-not. -.- (Sigh) I get myself into more trouble that way that anything…

**10xpandax10:** Thank you for your shameless strokes to my ego. A big-headed writer is a happy-one. 

**Princess Sakura93: **There is still more evil Fuji to come! (.)

**lil.ramen.lover** : Fan-girls can be mean, I guess. Don't worry though; I'll make sure she forgets all about it! (Smirks evilly)

**true-slytherin123: **You're not alone. I hardly update mine either. That last time I updated was when I read my friend's PoT fic… (Looks at profile) Yeash, something must be done! (-.-);;

**Torogi:** (O.o) Really?! Wowza! You put a lot of thought into your name…I just kinda took mine from an old ABBA song that I liked… I know what you mean; I try not to swear (New Year's resolution) but sometimes Ryoma-kun gets so violent. (-\ . /-)

**Car2nfreak:** This is true…Man I gotta stop hangin' out with that guy (-.-)…Eh, Ryoma seems a bit slow in the 'perceiving emotions' category; while Sakuno seems almost painfully obvious about hers…maybe they can help each other out. (.)

**speadee:** Goodness, I was always lost when trying to solve them. If I were a detective a lot of innocent people would go to jail… (-.-);

**matsukanishi09:** Idiomaticwhoziwhatsis? (0.o) Pathetically enough, I had to look up what that meant; after I did I was like 'Oh! So that's what they're called!' Well I learned something new; the day is not wasted! I have already read you're story 'Farm Disaster' even before I started writing this! I was busy and didn't have time to review; but now I definitely will! Otherwise I do not think its fair…Oh I am also planning a couple of side stories to go with this one. Right now they are more like vague ideas; but I like them and will try to follow through. (Sneak preview: Momo's cooking Mishaps. Momo needs a tutor to help him pass cooking; who better that little Sakuno-chan. Ryoma-kun isn't very fond of this though…) Like I said; still in the planning stage (-.-)

**summer-loven-2: **Mwahha! I look forward to it! It sounds high-larious! I think Tomo does too; I mean, she is part she-hulk…

**koolasapixels:** Mweehee, I'm glad you're so excited! There is more Fuji to come!

**atthecoastline:** I get what you mean; don't worry. I tried to make it flow well; gets a bit confusing otherwise. (Or maybe that's just me -.-)

**CinveXvterO:** Haha, yeah. I put a tad bit of my own sugar-high personality in there. Poor Ryoma-kun…

**Sam:** T.T…You won't let this go will you? I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don't think I'll be changing it to 'thorax' anytime soon…

**Krissel Himura:** I try to make them fun. If I'm not having fun while writing it; why should my reader have fun reading it? That's my philosophy.

Are my 'nya's getting to anyone else? I noticed that a few of you typed a couple of nya's in your reviews. The other day after I worked on this I started to say nya in sentences without realizing it. Until my father rudely pointed it out. 'You say 'nya' one more time and I swear I'm gonna spit on you.' (This is one of my fears…ugh the bacteria…) Lol just wondering…I'll shut up now -.-


	5. Thong but not forgotten

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama

**April's Fools**

"…So, you see Mr. Mikami, I didn't _forget_ my gym clothes; I just couldn't _get_ to them." Sakuno said, putting on the corniest and most charming smile that her face could form.

"Yeah, Sure Ryuzaki. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me they were mysteriously locked out of their room…well actually I'd only have one dollar…" The gym teacher mumbled incoherently after that.

"But sir," she interrupted him; pouting cutely, "it _really_ happened!" She stuck out her lower-lip for the grand effect.

Mr. Mikami sighed laboriously. "Fine, Ryuzaki; I won't mark down your grade. But not because of that phony 'locked out of my room' story."

"It's true!" She insisted.

"Whatever, it's not because of that; it's because you have been a good student and don't complain like the rest of the class does when ever I tell you to do laps." He grinned warmly, which she couldn't help but return. "_And_ for the fact that you look cute in Echizen's jacket." Her warm smile was gone and replaced with an angered and embarrassed gawp.

"Wh-wh-what!?" She blustered and then tried to recover, "Who says its Echizen-san's?"

"Oh come now, teachers aren't as clueless as you guys seem to think we are. Besides, being a gym teacher; one hears things…" The middle-aged man smirked impishly.

"Mr. Mikami, You eavesdropper!" She accused.

"Hey now, I worry about my students; especially my athletes. And I hear he was a real wreck while you two weren't talking …" Sakuno blushed attractively.

'_He was a wreck while weren't talking…? Maybe…could he possibly…?' _Then something struck her.

"Wait a second Mr. Mikami, how did you know we weren't speaking to each other?" She asked suspiciously.

"Now now, Ryuzaki. We can't stand here talking all day; I have to start class; now go line up with the rest of the students so I can take attendance." He said curtly. She sighed and gave up, but not before questioning her current position.

"Sir, what about class? I don't have a uniform…" She started, but the P.E. teacher cut her off before she could continue.

"Just wear what you have on, punishment for not bringing your gym clothes; you have to wear those all day." Mr. Mikami said with an evil grin.

'_Great; now I'll be hot and sweaty all day. That teacher is pure evil!'_ Sakuno heaved a sigh in submission. Oh well it's not like this turn of events is any different from the rest of the day's cruel happenings. She trotted grumpily over to where Tomoka stood waiting for her with the rest of the class.

"Making you run in your sexy outfit?" She asked, giggling.

"This is all your fault..." Sakuno grumbled in return while tying her hair back in a ponytail.

"I fail to see how this is my fault." _'It technically is; but you shouldn't know that…' _

"You bought me this outfit, and look at all of the stuff that has happened since then! It must be cursed; or the gods are punishing me for wearing something so revealing…" She roughly brainstormed through the many possibilities of how and why it was some sort of divine forces against her desire to have a peaceful day.

"I don't think it's a curse; but a gift. Who knows, maybe good will come from it…" Tomoka said suggestively.

Before Sakuno could think about what Tomoka said; Mr. Mikami called for the students' attention.

"Okay Freshmen; I'm timing you today so first were gonna have a short group stretch and then one lap around the field and then I'll call you alphabetically to time your 100 meter sprint. Until you are called, I expect you to stretch, and after you are timed you have a choice; running, take it or leave it." He projected in an authorative tone.

The class collectively groaned at the prospect of running for most of the period.

"Yeah, yeah; whine all you want. You still have to do it. Now get with your assigned partners for stretching and do whatever stretches you think will make you fastest for the timing." He called before fiddling with the stop-watch around his neck.

"Why does it have to be our assigned partners!?" Tomoka shrieked angrily.

"Why do I, someone with two years tennis experience, plus my time at Seigaku; have to be partners with the annoying cheerleader from the underworld?!" Horio yelled in outrage right afterwards. They both glared at each other; not bothering to hide their dislike.

Sakuno chuckled to herself before looking around the classroom for her own partner; Sakura.

--

"Class, make sure all of your goggles are secure and your gloves are pulled up as far as they can go. Remember these are highly dangerous chemicals you will be dealing with today." Mr. Boom droned monotonously.

It was still amazing to Ryoma that the chemistry teacher could make things like toxic chemicals and explosions sound so boring. He was just as amazed by the fact that said teacher insisted everyone call him 'Mr. Boom'. What, were they in preschool?

"Now you and you partner decide who will gather the correct amount of fluid from the canisters and who will set up the lab station." He lazily glanced over at his partner, who nodded and went to retrieve the chemicals from the back of the room. Ryoma liked to think that he and his chemistry partner had a special kind of telepathic bond; where the guy could just look at him and know what he was thinking. But in reality, he knew that the kid was just scared of him and would do anything to stay on his good side.

"Ryoma, Set up the lab! Don't make Tohru do all of the work!" Mr. Boom suddenly yelled, breaking him out of his daydream. Ryoma glanced around at their lab station and righted a single tipped over beaker before giving a pointed look to the teacher.

"All done." He smirked. Mr. Boom's usual scowl deepened only slightly before he moved to the next group that he could pick on.

Poor old man should have remembered who he was dealing with.

…

'_Wait…Tohru? _That's_ my partner's name? I just always thought of him as 'chemistry partner', or 'guy in my class' or 'hey you'. Tohru…Toe-rue…Tow-roo. Why does that name ring a bell?' _He thought about it for a moment more before deciding it wasn't worth his time and rotating on his stool to look out the window.

As he did he noticed the gym class getting warmed up and one person in particular caught his attention. Of course she would, she was the only one not wearing her gym uniform, and she was wearing his jacket.

'_Oh yeah, Sakuno's in gym this period.' _Not that he always looked at her or anything.

"You're lucky, Echizen." He whipped around quickly, almost falling off of his lab stool in the process, to face none other than Tohru himself. He then continued "You're lucky to have a pretty and kind girl like Sakuno as your girlfriend. I hope I can too someday." He finished, while looking out the window with a dazed expression. Ryoma followed his gaze back down to the girl in question to see that she was talking and laughing with some pink-haired girl that he thought he recognized from his fan-club.

'_You hope you can have Sakuno as your girlfriend someday?'_ he thought absently. Then all at once it hit him. _'Tohru! Wasn't that the guy that Tomoka said likes Sakuno?' _He whipped around, but before he could give the bastard a piece of his mind, he noticed the surprised look on his chosen target's face. Tohru was staring transfixed at the gym class below. So, Ryoma turned his head back around to see Sakuno walking toward the teacher with Sakura, red in the face; Sakura had Ryoma's jacket held in her hands.

--

"Are you sure about this Sakura…?" Sakuno asked cautiously.

"Of course; the less clothing you wear, the more it cuts down on your wind resistance. Therefore you will be much quicker; and remember this timing is pretty important for your grade." Sakura recited while gently rubbing her face against Ryoma's jacket longingly. Okay, so she was lying; so what? The pres had confided in her at lunch about what the plan was. Sure, she didn't agree at first but then Shusuke came and had a little talk with her and helped Sakura to realize something.

"_You claim to love him; but is annoying him and attacking someone he actually cares about, 'showing him love'? That's not love; I don't know what it is, but it's disgusting and shameless." Fuji said mercilessly._

"_I'm sorry…I-I never really thought about it that way…"_

"_He doesn't need your type of 'love'; but he could use your help. __**We**__ could use your help." He said, a smirk forming on his face._

"_What do I have to do?" She asked uncertainly; eager to redeem herself, but still fearful of the senior._

"_Two things…"_

"Ah…Sakura-chan people are staring" Sakuno's quiet voice brought her out of her reveries.

"Eh they're just jealous." She comforted easily.

"But…I'm not wearing the jacket…" Sakuno replied curiously. Man, this girl was oblivious.

"They're jealous of your hot bod! Don't tell me you haven't noticed that your 'modest' outfit really flatters your pretty little figure?" She openly flattered; while using air-quotes around the word modest.

"Wh-wh-what?" She gasped turning red as a tomato.

"You have to run now, go!" Sakura pushed her toward the starting line; laughing all the way.

She quickly lined up at the starting line; still inventing new shades of red to turn. The teacher spared her one questioning look before telling her to get in position and get set. She got down on her hands and crouched in the sprinting position.

"Go."

--

Ryoma watched as she took off from her starting position in one fluid motion and sprinted the 100 meters. In reality he was sure it only took in a couple of seconds, but in his mind's eyes he saw it in slow motion. With his 20/10 vision (really good; things 20ft away look only 10ft) he saw every leg muscle tense and release as she took each step. He saw her soft hair trail slightly behind her. He saw as she swung her arms out in front of her and back again; keeping a straight, back and forth motion to help keep speed. He saw as her face changed from a concentrated look, when she started; to a more determined look as she neared the end; to a relieved look after she finished.

"Whoa, that was fast." The quiet observation from his lab partner seemed to speed up time back to its regular pace, and doubled his normal heart rate at that. Was this guy ogling his Sakuno? Okay so she wasn't technically his (yet) but it's not like this punk knew that, besides what was he gonna do? Tattle on him? Hah! He wouldn't dare.

"Hey, you better stop looking at her if you wanna keep your-" he started fiercely getting a bit of pleasure out of the poor dupe's scared look before he was interrupted.

"Ryoma, Tohru, stop looking at girls and get back to work!" Mr. Boom abruptly snapped. "If you guys don't finish now then you'll finish on Saturday at a 5 hour detention!" Ryoma sighed grumpily and cast Tohru an angry look before quickly turning on the gas to the Bunsen burner and lighting it. Tohru, understanding the silent message, shakily measured the remaining chemicals in each graduated cylinder.

--

Ryoma stumbled out of the chemistry room practically breathing fire. After rushing through the lab quickly, all the while trying to show Tohru who's boss; Mr. Boom had assigned him tons of homework and two detentions to boot. He swore he smashed that test tube on accident but the crazy old geezer would not be swayed. He had had enough of this day, of this school! He was ready to ditch until he saw Tomoka and Sakuno walking his direction while talking animatedly; in her presence he sobered immediately. He couldn't figure out why; it was just another effect she had on him. He sighed, trying to find the peace of mind he got while playing tennis. Okay just two more periods and both of these have Sakuno in them so it's not like he would have to pull anymore weird stunts or strike anymore dangerous and reputation-ruining bargains with Sakuno's evil fan-girl-bodyguard.

"Hey Ryoma-sama, coming to lit with us?" Tomoka questioned, pausing in her conversation to give him a small smile and a wink. He glanced subtly over to Sakuno to see her blushing slightly and looking at anywhere but him. He smirked to himself.

"…Sure" he said before joining them and walking to class.

--

The day had been steadily getting better for Sakuno since her awful morning. She had gotten strawberry cake, she had been third fastest girl in 100m sprint timings (behind Tomoka and another girl everyone was sure was on steroids) and she was more or less on equal ground with Ryoma. She didn't expect him to apologize or even be sorry. He was probably just telling the truth, that's really all she was to him; the coach's granddaughter. She was willing to accept that and move on even if it hurt right now. Really badly.

The person whose behavior disturbed her was Tomoka's. Last week she was bad mouthing Ryoma and saying that they didn't need him and how she was going to start an 'I hate Ryoma' club. Now she was talking to him like nothing happened; very suspicious indeed.

She continued to their Japanese literature class, her head full of these and other confusing thoughts.

--

The good thing about this class was it didn't have much homework. The teacher believed you should learn things orally; the ancient art of story telling. The bad thing was a typical class period consisted of everyone sitting on their asses all period listening to the teacher basically read out of the text book.

Normally this was a good sleeping period for Ryoma, but today he was jittery. His 'something is going horribly wrong' alarm was going off. Usually he would have no clue why because that alarm would only go off during tennis. But remembering the events of today he could probably guess that they had to do with the object of his affection sitting in front of him and the fact she was falling asleep.

You may ask yourself why this was a cause for alarm, but with the way she was currently dressed and with Ryoma's unsure feelings and frantic amorous attraction to her; it was a very big cause for alarm. Sakuno was leaning on her hand, which was balanced on the desk. The sleepier she felt the more she seemed to lean on her desk, and the more she did that, the higher Ryoma's jacket seemed to inch on her frame. Something needed to be done, so he quickly and quietly reached over and tapped her shoulder.

"Ryuzaki, sit up." He whispered softly, trying not to draw attention.

She sat up and mumbled a couple of incoherent phrases. Ryoma allowed himself silent congratulations; that was easy enough. Then, to his horror, a second later she laid her head back down on her crossed arms on the desk and the jacket slipped back up her frame. Worse yet her underwear was now visible.

'_Why, in heaven and hell, is she wearing a pink, lacy thong?!' _He thought bewildered.

A couple of desks away Tomoka sat snickering at the prince's shocked and embarrassed look. Jeez, even his ears were turning red.

Ryoma could do nothing but stare wide-eyed and open mouthed; he absently thought he looked like something akin to a goldfish. His mind wandered back to last night's dream and others previous.

He shook his head to clear it; can't be thinking about that at a time like this. Even through his dazed state he heard people whispering. He quickly glanced around the room to see other shocked females and excited males looking at her attire. Without thinking his hand shot out and grabbed her shoulder; and with his exceptional strength and her light weight he pulled her back and pinned her to the back of her chair easily. Her back was safely and modestly covered once again.

She unfortunately gave a yelp of surprise at her sudden awakening which alerted the teacher's attention to them. The teacher quizzically regarded Ryoma's bright red face and bristling expression as he pulled Sakuno's shoulder back against the chair. The girl in question looked alarmed and confused.

"Echizen stop harassing poor Sakuno and listen to the lesson. You never know when you might have a pop quiz." The class settled down a bit and the teacher continued as if nothing out of the ordinary took place.

"Ah Echizen-san, you're squishing me." Sakuno whispered quietly. His eyes widened, he forgot he was still holding her back.

"Sorry" he hurriedly replied quickly releasing her. Then something came to mind "Just stop sleeping and pay attention."

"I-I wasn't sleeping…" She quietly protested turning slightly red.

''_Not sleeping' my ass.'_

--

Sakuno blushed at the thought that Ryoma caught her sleeping in class. Was she snoring, did she talk? Gah, what if she said something about him?! Is that why his face was so red? She had to know; she had to ask. So she waited anxiously until the bell rang and while he was packing up his things she asked.

"Uhm…pardon me…uhm…Echizen-san…h-how did you know I was sleeping…? W-was I t-talking or something?" She finally managed to stutter out. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Uh…I...that is…" That was all he managed before he was interrupted by none other than Horio.

"He probably saw yer underwear like the rest of the class." He said excitedly. "I didn't think you were that type of girl, but apparently I was wrong. My two years of lady expertise tells me so." He proclaimed. Sakuno looked like she was about to faint, when Tomoka came to the rescue.

"I know aren't they hot? I gave them to her as a gift. I sensed they were perfect with my twelve years of shopping experience!" She added just to annoy Horio. "But I thought we would wear them to next tennis match." The boys directed their full attention to her.

"You what?" Horio asked daringly. Tomoka rolled her eyes before continuing.

"Duh, we wear them under our school uniforms; since really outrageous outfits are banned. You just bend down a lot and unbutton your shirt. Why do you think the captain always invites us? We distract the other team." At this, Horio got a nosebleed and Ryoma had a look that was a cross between killing someone and getting a nose bleed himself.

Tomoka gave one last smile before grabbing her friend and walking out of the room. Once they were out Sakuno rounded on her.

"Why would you say those things, Tomo-chan?! Think what they must be thinking right now!" She snapped.

"Aw come on Saku-chan! It's all good fun. It keeps them guessing." Tomoka giggled. Sakuno wished she could disappear into the floor.

"Come now, you don't wanna be late to class!" Tomoka ignored her friend's expression and dragged her to their final period of the day; English.

--

Sakura hurried to the English room as soon as sixth period was over, she had to beat everyone there no matter what. Fuji's words were still ringing in her mind.

'_Two things, one you have to guard your seventh period English room until Inui gives the signal and two…'_

She arrived at the English room and peeked in really quickly, no one was there. Was this a joke? Other students started to arrive asking for entrance which she denied. Everyone became increasingly rowdy and persistent as it got closer and closer to the bell ringing.

"Come on! Let us in! What are we waiting for!?"

"The teacher will be here soon!"

"We'll get in trouble!"

She really started to panic as she saw Ryoma, Sakuno and the pres walking down the hall toward her. What should she do, Fuji said to wait for the signal, but what the heck was the signal; that information he failed to reveal. Just when she was about to cave and let everyone in; a head poked around the corner.

"There is a 56 chance that the teacher will give everyone Saturday detentions if he catches you all outside after the bell rings." Inui monotonously stated before leaving just as mysteriously as he came. Then an all out brawl broke loose.

"Out of the way! The principal said I would be suspended if I got another detention!"

"No way am I going; I have a date!"

"To heck with your date, my coach will kill me!"

Sakura relaxed the moment she saw Inui and stepped aside as people frantically pushed and shoved their way through into the classroom. Everyone just barely made it into the classroom when the bell rang and the teacher arrived. Sakura shakily took her seat behind Ryoma, the first half of her job finished; now she just had to wait till the end of class.

--

Ryoma slipped into his seat after all of the tumult settled down and class started with the teacher writing some sentences on the board in English and told the class to translate. So basically, a typical easy day for him. This was English IV so the teacher said nothing in Japanese in a pathetic attempt to make his students become fluent in the language. He rolled his eyes at this; the poor idiot didn't even understand him when Ryoma decided 'test' his English skills. He could have been speaking French for all that that teacher knew. He only took the class for an easy 'A'.

There was also a plus in the fact that Sakuno took it as well and needed his help. She hadn't asked him lately for obvious reasons, but he knew that would change soon; she would forgive him. His cocky nature refused the let him believe otherwise.

Besides a little denial never hurt anyone…she _would_ forgive him right?

--

Tomoka smiled over at Ryoma's troubled expression. She wasn't quite sure what he was thinking about. But if he was troubled during English, he couldn't be thinking about the class itself; he was raised in America for gosh's sake!

'_Hee hee! I can't wait 'till class gets out! He won't know what hit 'em!' _She thought excitedly watching each second tick by on the clock.

--

Fuji waited impatiently from his position outside the school. He had the affectionately dubbed 'Momo cam' following Ryoma and Sakuno at the moment, so he was supposed to wait and make sure everything was set up outside.

Inui had said everything went smoothly from his end and Sakura had kept her part of the bargain. So if all went well; Fuji had a nice reward set up for her. Of course it was Tomoka's idea, but only he could bring it to life.

He checked his watch for the umpteenth time; willing it to tick faster. When he felt a presence behind him, he smirked already knowing who it was without looking.

"Inui, how goes everything my friend?" He said happily expecting the best.

"Everything is according to plan; the percentage for error is very little and even less with Momo on site and all of us waiting to pounce if something happens to go awry." He recited.

"And you're sure the stuff will work…?" Fuji asked needing one last assurance.

"I guarantee you it will do its job perfectly." Inui replied immediately. Fuji heard the alarm on his watch go off and his turned to Inui, a slightly blood thirsty look in his eyes.

"Perfect."

--

If Sakura was trembling before, now she was shaking as if she was left in a blizzard. Every little thing made her jump; the tap of a pencil, the drop of a book, even someone coughing. God, she couldn't go through with this; she was terrified. Maybe she should just do what Fuji told her…No! She had to follow her heart!

'_But what if I screw things up; what if Fuji and the others get really mad at me? Then what will I do?'_

She glanced at the clock; was it moving faster then normal? Or was that her? Oh gods she should just back out now. It would be easier and it wouldn't hurt as much. She glanced at the back of Ryoma's head.

'_But…' _Then her eyes drifted over to the clock again, and panic welled in her throat once more. There were only ten minutes left in the class period; she had to decide now.

--

'_Ngh… English is so hard! Maybe I could ask for help from Ryoma-kun again…no, then I would be being a bother again…I'll just have to study harder…'_ Sakuno thought, resigned _'Thank goodness, school is almost over.'_ She couldn't wait to get out of her clothes and jump into a nice hot bubble bath.

"Sakuno, please tell us how many minutes are left of school; in English." She winced before standing up and looking at the clock.

"Uhm…it is 2:55 now so we get out in 'five hours'?" She tried half heartedly; already knowing the outcome.

"You mean 'five _minutes_' Sakuno." He corrected in a disappointed way.

"Yes sir. 'Five minutes'." She said and then sat down quickly trying to lessen the shameful feeling in her gut. She used to be one of his best students, but since she stopped getting help from Ryoma; she didn't know what she was doing anymore.

'_Look at me; without Ryoma-kun I'm falling apart! He probably doesn't even notice my absence!'_

--

Ryoma sighed; one minute before the bell rang.

'_Thank god this day was starting to get long; who knew so much could happen? At least it's all over…' _He started to pack up his things quietly so he wouldn't bother the class or insult the teacher anymore than necessary when he felt a small almost miniscule tap on his shoulder and a quiet, nervous whisper.

"Uhm…Ryoma-sama?" He turned in his chair and was greeted by a very nervous looking pink haired girl.

'_She's the one that was talking to Sakuno during her gym class. I think she's one of those crazy fan girls too. Great I bet she's going to ask about the jacket.'_

"Yeah, what is it?" He tried to give his best 'no nonsense' look like he used in tennis; but there it came naturally, here it was a little harder.

"…please…would you please…uhm s-stay after c-class with m-me? I j-just wanna talk to you…please?" There was a bit of a desperate note in her voice, this interested him; what was she so worried about?

"Sure, whatever." He relaxed in his desk once again as the bell rang and everybody else started putting things away and heading for the door. He couldn't help but notice that before she walked out of the classroom, Sakuno cast him a curious look. When everyone was gone; even the teacher he decided to speak up. "Well, what is it? You're lucky I don't have practice today." He said crisply; slightly annoyed that he couldn't escort Sakuno safely around the school.

She flinched before nervously clearing her throat and slowly getting out of her desk and standing next to his.

"Ryoma-sama, I wanted to t-tell you t-that I…" She seemed to hesitate then she bowed her head so her bangs covered her eyes. "I-I…I…l-l-l-ove y-you!" She finally managed. Ryoma couldn't believe his ears; many fan girls told him they loved him, but not one of them said it with this much sincerity and truth that this girl did. Of course he didn't feel the same way, he doubted he ever could but he knew he couldn't just brush her off insensitively like the rest. He watched as tears rolled down a path on her cheeks to slowly collect and drip off her chin. He subconsciously followed one with his eyes; thinking of Sakuno. He watched as it dripped down past her trembling knees and splattered on the floor. The trance was broken as it did and he looked back up into the sobbing girl's bright green eyes. They looked so lost and confused and yet in a strange way: comforted.

"Listen I-" She cut him off before he would embarrass himself.

"It's okay… You don't have to feel the same way; I knew you wouldn't…but thank you for listening to my silly, girly feelings and letting me get it off my chest anyways." She said this even though her tears were flowing more than ever and her legs were trembling so much it looked like she could barely stand. "I'm sorry for wasting your time and I hope you're happy with whatever lucky girl you choose." She started to run off but before she could take two steps he grabbed her hand from his position in the desk. She gasped as she seemed to lose whatever strength was holding her together and collapsed on her knees to the side of Ryoma's chair.

"Liking someone isn't girly; and telling me sincerely how you feel isn't silly." He looked her straight in the eye. "No, I can't return your feelings, but...I would like to be your friend…" Her eyes widened and if possible she seemed to cry harder. Ryoma sat quietly still holding her wrist gently and let her cry. After a couple of minutes she seemed to realize the situation and started to frantically dry her face with her sleeve.

"I'm r-really s-sorry!" she gasped "I can't believe I just broke down like that. Forgive me; I just feel so relieved." Ryoma offered her one of his rare smiles and she blushed before saying quietly. "I think I really did love you…I mean…I always thought I felt different about you than the rest of the club…they really just respect you; like some famous musician…But I felt…feel happiest when you're happy…not when someone bought a picture from Fuji of you in the locker room." He looked surprised at this and she continued "I mean…ugh I feel mortified… I make you stay after class and force you to listen to my pathetic story…" She said, half heartedly looking up at him through puffy red eyes from her position on the floor.

He sighed, pulling out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her. "It's okay…my story, if you heard it, would sound twice as pathetic and what's worse is that I brought it on myself…I tried to hide the way I feel about her and just ended up hurting her…" he looked her in the eyes, "but I'm not giving up, and you shouldn't either."

"You want me to keep chasing after you?" she looked at him like he was crazy.

"No, but you shouldn't give up on finding someone…I mean I don't know much about this stuff, but don't they say that there's someone out there for everyone? Just 'cause it's not me doesn't mean you should give up looking…" he replied awkwardly. "What I mean is…uh…wanna be friends?" Sakura couldn't help but giggle at his horribly uncomfortable appearance.

"You really wanna be friends after I was part of an organization that stalked you?" She said; getting more of her nerve back with every passing moment. He rolled his eyes before adjusting his grip on her wrist slightly and leaning toward her from his desk chair.

Both of them were too wrapped up in their own feelings to notice the door's quiet click.

"Yeah about that…I think you're pretty cool and smart and stuff but I barely know you so maybe we should take it a bit slow? I'm not ready to be in that close of a relationship with you yet…and won't the rest of your club kill you? Maybe we shouldn't let people know right away…"

Sakura was about to reply with a 'you should be more worried about Sakuno than me' but a small gasp and clatter of objects from the hallway immediately directed both of their attention to the shocked and hurt face of Sakuno Ryuzaki.

As soon as he heard the gasp his heart sank; he knew that voice anywhere, he heard it in his sleep for god's sake! He looked at the door way praying that it was anybody but her, but since when was luck ever on his side?

Sakuno seemed to stare at them for eternity with that pained look. When Ryoma was finally about to speak up with a cheesy 'It's not what it looks like!' She filled the silent void with her quiet shaking voice.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." She then turned around and ran out of the room and down the hall. She was leaving again; and this time he didn't think she'd be back.

At that thought, panic rose in his throat and he cursed as let go of Sakura's wrist and tried to scramble out of his seat.

'Tried' being the key word here.

"What the hell?! I can't get up!!" He snarled as he tried to get up out of his seat but he seemed to be stuck. He looked at his damn chair and noticed that his pants seemed to be glued to it. He couldn't even bring the whole desk with him; the English room had to old-fashioned desks that were connected and bolted to the floor. He was stuck and Sakuno was getting further away every second he ass was glued to this desk. Finally with determination in his heart; he unbuttoned his pants, kicked off his shoes and slipped out of his glued pants with ease. As soon as he was free he took off in hot pursuit of Sakuno in his boxers and socks.

--

A/n: Okay, so very long time. Sorry, when I got back school started! It's hard this year. I know it's bound to be you know last year I didn't have much school because I was in the hopsical for my kidneys…but I'm still determined to finish this! I've also started a few one shots while I was gone; they may be out soon. So I hope I haven't totally disappointed you -.-;;

Well how was this chapter; I tried to make it extree long to make up for the wait…but I can't help my need to make a cliff hanger ya know?


	6. You spin me right round, baby

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Prince of Tennis/ Tennis no Ohjisama

**April's Fools**

So in retrospect, running down the school hall's tile floor in socks wasn't one of the best ideas he ever had.

Ryoma charged after Sakuno at full speed and caught up with practiced ease. But just when he thought he was close enough to grab her she turned a corner to the left. He tried to follow, but since when have slippery floors and socks mixed well?

When he made a hard left; his momentum carried him past the corner Sakuno had turned and into the lockers at the end of the hall; just as the laws of gravity and centrifugal force predicted. There was a loud bang as he made impact and every head in the hall was suddenly turned toward the dazed and pant-less prince.

He came to his senses and peeled himself off of the lockers. With one thought in mind, he scrambled back up and ran after Sakuno.

"Ryuzaki, Get back here and listen to me!"

--

She had paused with the rest of the school to see if he was okay; but the minute she saw him back on her tail; she was off sprinting down the hall at full speed. Sakuno leapt down the stairs, desperately wanting to get away from the man that only seemed to cause her heartbreak.

"Ryuzaki, Get back here and listen to me!"

"I don't want to hear it, Echizen!" She yelled back, not even caring if he or anyone else heard.

Up the stairs, down the stairs, through the halls, ducking in and out of classrooms, jumping over desks, sliding down stair rails; no matter what Sakuno did she just couldn't seem to shake him. And to make matters worse she was getting tired. Ryoma Echizen was "The Prince of Tennis"; you didn't get titles like that for tiring after a short sprint across the school. Just when she was starting to lose her breath she got an idea and made a quick U-turn right toward her pursuer.

--

Ryoma was hot on her heels when suddenly without warning she whipped around and ran right toward him. His eyes widened and he quickly jumped out of the way in a subconscious effort to prevent a collision. Before he could react in any other way she ducked into the room barely two feet in front of him. He watched in stunned silence as the door slowly swung closed and clicked against the door frame.

He turned to follow and braced his hands on the door to push it open. Something prickled at the back of his consciousness; whether it was instinct or a lost memory, he did not know. He looked up and his suspicions were confirmed; there hung the ancient remains of the girls locker room sign.

He winced and backed away slowly; yes he liked Sakuno, hell, maybe even loved her with all of the things he'd done to keep her close; but even he had his limits. He wasn't scared of punishment; he could take it in stride like a man, but the thought of being compared to his lecherous father was much sharper and lasting than a thousand manicured nails scraping across his flesh.

He growled in a frustrated manner and started to pace in front of the door like a caged lion. He could just barge in there and hope it was empty, but he knew for a fact that there was girl's swim team practice after school today; he couldn't risk it. But what other choice did he have? Just give up and go home? Hell no! He took off his pants for this woman; she was going listen to what he had to say and beg for his forgiveness, which he would easily give for homemade lunch and a Ponta…and maybe a massage.

Before his imagination could carry him in another, less appropriate direction an authoritative voice boomed across his consciousness.

"Echizen! What the heck are you doing running around without regulation school pants on!?" He turned his gaze over to see the frizzy haired and bespectacled hall monitor, looking as ticked as a bat outa hell.

He sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance; he didn't need this girl around to bother him right now. She was a 'reluctant' member of Tomoka's fan club, claiming she only joined to keep tabs on the unorthodox organization. Yet time and again on Valentine's Day or other gift giving holidays he always found an anonymous gift in his desk of pre-signed hall passes to be used for whatever reason he liked. He was about to tell her to go and monitor some other hall before he shoved his foot in a very uncomfortable place, but then inspiration struck.

"Kyo-san, was it?" He said smoothly, putting on what he hoped was a charming smile.

"Kyoko, and that's Hall monitor Kyoko to you." She said crisply, almost making him rethink his little idea.

"Ah, must we use such formalities, Kyoko-san?" He pretended to pout a bit, a trick he usually saved for the annoying adults in his life.

She turned a light pink before stubbornly looking away; "Yes…well, why are you in front of the locker room anyways?" She adjusted her glasses nervously.

"Well, one of the girls in there was very naughty and took something from me." he really had to resist the urge to blush at the word 'naughty' and what Ryuzaki _could_ be doing to be accused as such. "I was hoping to catch her when she came out and give her a stern… tongue lashing." God, he couldn't believe he said that; he could see his father giving him proud congratulations. Not that he was implying anything dirty…but still he would have to wash his mouth out with soap after this.

"Oh? Who was this? And what did she take from you?" She tried to look annoyed, but Ryoma could tell she was going to do what he asked anyways.

"Ah, Sakuno Ryuzaki is her name and she happened to take a gift I got last Valentine's Day from a very considerate, but anonymous fan of mine." Luckily, he managed to make himself look very upset; otherwise she probably would have smelled that bullshit from a mile away.

"So she took a gift from you?" She asked, now blushing from the intense look he was giving her.

"Yes, a small book of hall passes; one of the most considerate gifts I have ever gotten." He said smoothly; barely holding back a smirk as she started to melt like putty.

--

"Ryuzaki, how long are you gonna stand in my way?" Said an annoyed, heavily muscled upperclassman whose gym-locker she was apparently blocking.

"Sorry" Sakuno said and ducked into a corner. Great, now she was trapped in here. She tried in vain to think of a plan of escape. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She didn't want to hurt anymore.

"That's better." The upperclassman said while continuing to towel her hair dry "So, who are you hiding from anyways?"

"Nobody." She replied moodily. Ryoma's words to Sakura still rang in her head _'I think you're pretty cool and smart…I'm not ready for a close relationship yet…maybe we shouldn't tell anyone…' _She guessed she was just delusional when she dared to think he liked her. It wasn't that surprising that he wanted to go out with someone smart and funny and confident like Sakura. What chance did she have? She still blushed whenever he looked at her and could scarcely hold a conversation with him without stuttering.

"I don't think the pampered prince out there will appreciate being called a 'nobody', Saku-chan." The senior smirked at Sakuno's surprised face before explaining. "I saw you guys running down the halls earlier."

"Yeah, you and the whole school." She started to become aggravated, "Why does this keep happening? I try to ignore him and forget everything and he just pulls me back in…" She hugged her knees into her chest.

"So you're running away from your problems like a scrawny freshman? You do stuff like that around here you get fifty extra laps courtesy of yours truly. Being the girl's swim team captain has its perks you know."

Sakuno turned her face away shamefully. "It is none of your business."

The swim team captain sighed and rolled her eyes. "Freshmen." She huffed "Always coming to our school and trying to stir things up." Sakuno turned back to her and gave her a small, shy smile.

"You know," The captain continued "If I ever had a boy _I liked_ in his boxers chasing me, I'd let him catch me." Sakuno considered this for a second.

"Even though you might get hurt?"

The captain sighed "Okay I'm still the swim team captain so the advice you get from me is what I give to the members of my team when they need it." She then kneeled down by Sakuno's side and put a comforting hand of her shoulder "If you're scared to jump off the high dive, its okay, but you just can't stand up their forever. You could climb back down and walk away and never know what you could have done up there. Or you could dive in and do your best; you might get hurt, but you might do something spectacular and win gold metal. Given those choices, I would dive in; wouldn't you?"

Sakuno looked at her admiringly for one second before their moment was ruined by the laughter of the forgotten swim team members in the girl's locker room.

"Hahaha I got that shpeal when I was at state and got cold feet; now she's pushing it for love advice?! Hahahah!"

"Hahahaha Oh man now we have for our captain? Hahahaha!"

The captain turned bright red and rounded on her teammates. "You think you're funny?! We'll see how funny you are after the hundred extra laps you'll have to swim!" The team sobered a bit before trying to make amends with the embarrassed captain.

"Aww, come on Captain; we were kidding, we'll-" before they could finish, the doors to locker room banged open to reveal the gritty Hall monitor.

"I'm looking for Sakuno Ryuzaki."

Sakuno looked like a deer caught in headlights. The captain, pitying the underclassman, came to her rescue.

"What seems to be the problem here…" She paused to mockingly look up and down her much smaller-in-stature opponent, "…officer?"

The brash girl flushed in mortification. "That's Hall Monitor to you! And you better not be helping Ryuzaki; she's a criminal and needs to be treated as such. If you all are with her then you're against me and-" As a couple more members of the team joined their captain in peering down at her, she suddenly seemed to become aware of the fact that these were all seniors and star athletes. They therefore could make life very hard for her very easily. She balked at the thought and started to back off a bit.

"Well, if she's not in here then I suppose I should just go…" She then caught sight of the girl sitting in the corner, peering apprehensively between the swimmers up at her.

"Ah-ha!" She pointed accusingly toward the corner. "I _knew_ you were hiding her! Ryoma-sama said he saw h-"

"Echizen put you up to this?" A swimmer inquired.

The hall monitor immediately bridled and played with her glasses nervously. "What uh what makes you think that?"

The team continued to glare down at her.

She became slightly desperate. "Listen here; I'm hall monitor so you better not give me any trouble or I'll make sure you get suspended!" She threatened erratically.

"Oh we won't give you any trouble, but if you wouldn't mind pointing us in the direction of Echizen…we'll be on our way." The captain said with a broad smile painted on her face. There was still an air of menace about her that Kyoko just didn't want to challenge, so she spun on her heel and lead the swim team toward the hall.

The captain hung back and watched her team file out of the locker room. As soon as they left the door swung closed she turned to Sakuno and started to talk quickly.

"Look, I don't know exactly what's going on here, but I don't approve of running away from your problems either way. So, you know, stop running and just make a decision. We'll distract Ryoma so you can escape out the exit in the pool. I'm not letting you run away- We're just… giving you some time to think. Now go- girls in swimsuits can only attract men for so long…then again…maybe you'll have more time than we thought…"She broke off before giving Sakuno a 'good luck' pat on the head and ushering her through the back exit of the locker room, better know as the entrance to the pool.

----

"Ahhh! What is going on?! This is all wrong! This better not be Fuji's doing; tell me everything you know Momo!" Tomoka screamed angrily.

"Calm down Osakada, I'm sure Fuji has it all under control; no need to get upset." The sophomore said consolingly. It was hard enough for Momo to calm down an emotionally-erratic girl, but when you add the fact that he was currently the big red target of her anger…let's just say if things got nasty, Tomoka wouldn't miss the 'bull's-eye'.

"I don't know anything, I swear! Fuji never tells us about his plans; we just listen to his orders and do what he says."

"Why? Does he threaten to hit you? Cuz I can do that too…" She emphasized this by grabbing the neck of his shirt and shoving her fist in his face.

"Now, now; let's not do something we'll regret later." He said loosening his tie and wiping the sweat that trickled down his brow.

"I doubt I'll have any regrets if I beat your face in."

Then an angelic voice echoed from heaven…at least from Momo's point of view.

"Oh my, am I interrupting something?" Fuji stepped from around the corner of the building, camera in hand and cheeky smile plastered on his face. "Thanks for the great footage." Tomoka immediately let go of Momo and rounded on Fuji.

"Why you dirty rotten liar; you said you didn't make anymore changes!"

"I didn't" He replied innocently "This one was all Sakura, I didn't tell her to do anything but hold him up after class. She did…but not in anyway we predicted."

"You still assumed she'd confess her feelings to him didn't you? I can read that stupid grin on your face. Now look at what's happened; Sakuno has locked herself away somewhere and Ryoma is running around the whole school looking for her acting like a fool in his underwear!"

"A human's reaction is always unknown…But I would be lying if I said I didn't shove things in that direction slightly." A guilty smile played at his lips.

"…You all will be forgiven for plotting against me if things still work out…but if they don't…" She left her threat uncompleted leaving the torture up to their imaginations.

Momo decided it was safe to let his presence be known again. "So, uh, I should probably go and make sure everything's set up for the big finale right?"

Tomoka gave him a dark look. "Yes, I believe that would be appropriate." He nodded and looked at Fuji for extra consent. Fuji just smiled that Fuji smile of his and tipped his still-rolling camcorder in Momo's direction; who nodded in understanding and hurried out to the courtyard.

--

Ryoma was laughing evilly in his mind. He had done it, he had gotten her to go in and bring Sakuno out. Now where was she going to run, he had a higher authority on his side. He waited eagerly for the doors to open and Sakuno to come out. And when the doors finally opened he grinned wildly before he realized that she wasn't, didn't, and isn't going to come out.

But before his brain could process anything other than disappointment at Sakuno's absence, he was surrounded by the hulking frames of the stars on the girl's swim team.

Hulking frames all glaring down at him; guess Sakuno had made some new friends too.

"So, Ryoma, chasing a girl around in your boxers? I'm pretty sure that's some form of sexual harassment." The girl standing in front of him, the one that looked like the leader of the pack, said. Ryoma thought it safest not to say anything. "You must be pretty desperate; didn't your father teach you any better?' She said mockingly.

Unfortunately for her, and consequently him, she had poked at one of the few weak points in his armor. Being compared to his father, and calling him a pervert. Therefore he could not, and should not be held accountable for what happened next.

He adopted an extremely cheeky pose and said the words that would probably earn him a place in hell. "Well if you and your _fifty-year-old linebacker's body_ were walking around in your underwear, men would call the police and have you arrested for _public harassment_!"

A look of pure shock crossed the swimmer's face, followed by one of rage and retribution.

Whoops, time to go.

--

Instantly the smell of chlorine violently assaulted her poor nose. She wasn't used to such a concentrated aroma of it. Sakuno didn't have to take swimming in gym because she had her fair share of lessons and could be trusted not to drown. She had learned to swim herself at a friend of her Grandma's cabin, which was next to a large lake. Thus she had never been in the school's swimming pool and the stench nearly made her dizzy.

She covered her mouth and nose and trotted quickly toward the door to the outside being mindful of the slippery pool floor. Finally she got to the other end of the pool, managing to fall on her behind only once, and grabbed the door handle. Freedom!

…but the door was stuck.

She frowned and pushed a little harder. Nothing.

She squared her feet and put her full weight on that big, stupid door that was currently the only thing from liberation and locking her in this chlorine filled hell.

Still nothing; it wouldn't budge.

She was getting flash backs from this morning, which seemed like an eternity ago now, her door was locked and she was stuck in these clothes.

The beginning of the end, in her opinion.

Well no more of that, she would not give up and walk back the other way like she did when she decided to wear the clothes she was stuck in, oh no.

So she backed up a few feet and rolled up her sleeves. She then tied her loose hair back in a pony tail with a ribbon she got from Sakura in gym. She adjusted her shorts and shirt to her liking and rubbed her hands together.

Okay, on three, 1…2…3…

She launched herself from that spot with her eyes closed, not wanting to look at the very solid object coming toward her.

--

Ryoma had managed to loose the swimmers by ducking around a few corners and hiding in a classroom, but he wasn't happy about it. Come on, the prince of tennis having to run from a bunch of girls? He didn't think so; so he came out of the classroom confidently strolling down the hall in his boxers. He would not be scared by anyone, he was supposed to be intimidating one!

Regrettably school had long since got out and the only people that remained were a few members from various clubs; there was no one for him to intimidate and heal his badly bruised ego. This reminded him…

Where the hell was Sakuno?! She must have escaped out the back; she got those brutes to cover her trail.

So he took off toward the courtyard hoping to catch her before she left the grounds at least. But as he exited the school and ran he heard a voice and froze in his tracks. He turned and saw a lone figure barreling toward him at dangerous speeds. Ryoma could only watch in horror and prepare for the blow as the person came ever closer.

--

Sakuno expected the impact, she expected it to hurt, and she even expected the solid structure to give way. Why wouldn't it, she was putting her full weight and more on that stupid door. But what she didn't expect was to land on the fallen door, which no longer felt like a door but a very solid chest, or to be pelted with debris afterward.

When the wreckage stopped falling on her, she opened her eyes to find a very disoriented and displeased high school tennis captain staring back at her. She turned and saw that the 'debris' was in fact a bunch of tennis balls that were seemingly knocked out of their baskets by her. She had apparently crashed into Tezuka as he was opening the door and football tackled him to the ground, sending the rackets and ball baskets flying.

"Uhm…" She uhmed; not totally sure how to react to the present situation. Did she mention that she was also straddling the fallen captain? Yes, that added a bit to the awkwardness. She righted herself quickly and scrambled off the regular's lap looking very apprehensive. "Hello Kunimitsu-niisan, how are you today?" She tried, putting on a friendly face.

The horizontal captain sat up so quickly she almost bumped her forehead against his. "What the hell do you think you were doing? Running around like an idiot, you could have hurt somebody…you could have _killed yourself_!!" Tezuka wasted no time getting to the point.

She whimpered before explaining. "Th-The door was-and I-but it didn't-so I- and I'm really sorry!!" She said in a rush, while looking dewy eyed and subconsciously shielding herself from his wrath with her arms in front of her body.

Tezuka sighed; he knew this was an argument that he had before; it seems like every time he saw her she was falling down some stairs, tripping over something, or banging into something…someone in this case.

"Whatever, just be careful next time." He said dismissively. She immediately brightened "I will; you can count on me!" Tezuka rolled his eyes.

--

Momo was having some sort of heart attack he was sure of it. His heart was pounding, almost painfully so, he might add; his arm hurt from holding up the camera for so long, and his life was flashing before his eyes.

The cause of his possibly, life-ending condition was none other that the demon captain of the Seigaku High tennis team. Who, he might add, at the moment was almost single-handedly foiling their entire plan for today.

'_What the hell is Tezuka doing here?! Ahhh, Tomo's gonna kill me!!' _He continued to watch anxiously from his hiding place around the corner from the door that started the problem; waiting, hoping, and praying.

"Let me help you pick all this up, niisan." Sakuno said helpfully; eager to redeem herself. Tezuka just nodded, while standing up and dusting himself off.

'_Maybe she'll still make it, how long could it possibly take to pick up a few tennis balls.'_

Then Sakuno bent over to pick up the scattered equipment and the whole story changed. Momo's eyes widened and his mouth formed an 'o' of horror. Dear lord her thong was showing. He prayed Tezuka wouldn't see, willed him to look the other way. But as if the captain could read his thoughts, he looked up and glanced over at Sakuno.

He had never seen that shade of red on the captain before, it was quite interesting. Soon the new color disappeared to be replaced by a familiarly terrifying shade of crimson that signaled an oncoming rage.

"Sakuno Ryuzaki…" He said dangerously.

Sakuno flinched recognizing the tone and turned slowly in fear. "Yes," She gulped audibly "Kunimitsu-niisan?"

"Does your grandmother know you are wearing such adult lingerie?" Her eyes went blank with unspeakable horror. That was when Momo decided the situation was out of hand and that he must handle it accordingly. He whipped out his walkie-talkie and whispered the distress signal into the receiver for Fuji's ready ears. "Code red! Code red! Level C threat! Ah, hurry up or we're screwed!!"

Across the school all the regulars were suddenly brought to attention.

"Level C threat, what's…?" Eiji said confused. Then his and others eyes expanded in terror. "Holy crap, the captain!! Who was supposed to watch him, I know we assigned someone!"

"Kaido…" Taka said dreadfully, and everyone grimaced in response.

"Alright, alright." Fuji said diplomatically, "No use crying over spilt blood," The other regulars begged to differ.

"Eiji, Taka, Oishi; go over and take care of the problem." Fuji clapped Oishi on the shoulder. "And, best of luck…" He gave them that sadistic smirk of his before grabbing Taka's racquet and placing it in its owner's destructive hands.

As soon as the racquet made contact with him, the worried look was gone and replaced by a strange almost inhuman surge of energy. He then yelled his battle cry in delight and charged forward: his destination in mind, and didn't care who was in his way; they would be moved.

--

Ryoma continued to stare in horror as Taka charged right at him with no signs of stopping. Just before he was slammed into at full force he found he had control of his legs and managed to dive out of the way just in time. Taka continued of his rampage, charging in an unknown direction as Ryoma stared after him trying to make sense of the situation.

As he stood up and dusted himself off Eiji and Oishi ran across his line of vision, the latter apologizing for Taka and promising to make it up to him.

"What's going on?" The prince tried to ask

"Sorry Ochibi, no time! We're men on a mission and we can't be stopped for anything, nya! Innocent lives are at stake!! Nya!!"

After that brief exchange they blew right past him. Ryoma got curious so he hung back a minute more before following.

--

"Does your grandmother know you are wearing such adult lingerie?" As soon as she heard that she pulled her shirt down self-consciously and steeled herself for a lecture.

A lecture that never came.

For as Tezuka opened his mouth to say something a loud screaming of "Burning!" drown out what ever he was saying.

She whipped around just in time to see Taka slamming full speed into Tezuka's side. The only sound the captain made was an ominous 'oof' noise as the air was forced out of his lungs in a whoosh and he was slammed into the ground for the second time that day.

Sakuno stared in shock at the scene, barely believing her eyes. She thought even 'crazy Taka' had more sense than that.

Eiji and Oishi came barreling around the corner a second later, panting like dogs; they both wore expressions she imagined were the same kind of looks kamikaze bombers wore.

"Saku-chan…" Eiji said gravely "You might want to get out of here, nya…"

"Yeah," Oishi agreed "We won't be able to hold him off for long and you know he only sees red when he's mad…"

She nodded and bowed her head for those who would loose their lives today. After a short prayer she jogged off around the corner Eiji and Oishi came from toward the school entrance.

Sakuno saw the entrance, she saw freedom; she was ready, ready to escape all the craziness from this day. Ready to escape from that stupid tennis prince and his stupid fan club and his stupid good looks, and stupid charm and consideration…

Before she could dwell on that thought any more two strong arms came out of nowhere and grabbed her into a solid chest. She yelped in surprise but was cut off as a hand came up and covered her mouth. She thrashed in full panic mode, trying desperately to get the attention of the seniors just around the corner. Dear lord, she was being attacked; and she thought this day couldn't get any worse!

She started to hyperventilate a bit and while she was having her episode, she felt warm breath in her ear and a very familiar voice whisper "Gotcha!"

The moment that voice went through her ears and was processed into her brain, she saw red.

--

Ryoma followed Eiji and Oishi out of curiosity, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't thrilled by the fact that they lead him right to Sakuno.

When he peeked around the corner of the building that the seniors disappeared behind he wasn't sure what he expected. But low and behold, he saw her standing to the side of a scene that looked like mass carnage. So he waited, like the pathetic stalker he had been reduced to, for her to come around the corner. Which she did a moment later and he grabbed her.

He really didn't expect the fight he got out of her. At first she just struggled to get free but when he whispered in her ear, something he thought might calm her struggling; she just started to fight harder.

He sucked in a sharp breath as she almost landed another kick to his shin.

It was like she was trying to hurt him!

"Stop moving!" He snarled in agitation. Her response was neither long nor eloquent, but it certainly got her point across. She bit the hand he had over her mouth.

"Ah, what the hell!?" He yelped and pulled his hand away from her mouth. As soon as he did, he regretted it.

"Get your hands off me you jerk! How dare you touch me?! You have some kind of nerve you know that!?" Shocked by her tone, he could do nothing but obey.

As soon as she was free she hopped away like he burned her.

"Hey wait; you got to listen to me…" he said carefully, grabbing her wrist.

"No! I'm done with you Echizen; DONE!" She yelled and viciously slapped his wrist away. He had never seen her this way…he kinda liked it.

She started to stomp off again; well he wouldn't have it, because she wasn't the only one in a bad mood here. He didn't know if she noticed but he was standing here in his socks and boxers for the entire world to see. All he wanted to do was apologize in the first place and suddenly he was the bad guy?!

He stomped after her, hell's fire burning in his eyes.

"Damn it Ryuzaki, you better listen to me!" He shouted angrily, trying to convey all of his rage and frustration in those few words.

Unexpectedly she whirled around, but not with the forgiving eyes he was hoping for.

--

"You want me to listen to you!?" She screeched; rage like she had never known was flowing like fire in her veins. It hurt so bad, the only thing she could do was yell to keep the pain at bay.

They had stopped in the main courtyard and they were under Ryoma's favorite napping tree, the cherry blossoms were just budding this year it might have been very picturesque if not for her black mood.

"Every time I listen to you, you act like a jerk and yell at me or insult me or just ignore me! Well I'm not a rug! You can't just walk all over me and then expect me to look nice afterwards!"

She saw Ryoma wince slightly from her words and that fueled the fire more. He was finally listening to her, so she would show him. She would tell him off and hope it hurts, and then he would know how she feels.

--

Ryoma kept his distance for he knew he was facing a girl that shouldn't be messed with at the moment. He winced at the truth of her words; he supposed he was a bit mean in the past. He just didn't know how to act, she wasn't like everybody else. He didn't always know why but she wasn't, he had never felt that way about anyone else, so most of the time he just acted like an idiot around her.

As he was speculating on this he saw something in the corner of his eyes that set off all warning alarms in his head; a suspicious pile of leaves right by Sakuno's feet.

Which sounded really weird but that's what it was. It was a random pile of leaves. They weren't the right color or size to belong to the tree they were standing under. Even if they were, it was spring; there weren't any leaves falling at this time of year!

He sensed danger, he had to warn Sakuno.

"Sakuno, I think-" She cut him off rather rudely

"No! I'm talking! You wanted to talk so we're talking!" She snarled.

"Would you just listen to me for a second?" He tried again patiently. Worry for Sakuno currently overruling his temper "Right there by you feet, there-" She interrupted him furiously again.

--

"Echizen you are so selfish! You're ignoring me when you're the one who wanted to talk!" She was so mad, she stomped her foot in anger; an uncontrollable action.

She heard the satisfying crunch of leaves beneath her feet and for a moment wished it was Ryoma's foot instead.

"Hold on just for a second there's-" He tried to talk again, but she would have none of it.

"You don't want to listen to me. Fine, I'm done with you then; I'm never talking to you again, Echizen!" She snarled and turned to stomp off again.

The last thing she heard was the loud crunch of leaves beneath her feet.

Then her whole world turned upside down—literally.

She didn't know what happened, one minute; she was on the ground, governed by normal laws of gravity. The next; up was down, down was gone, the whole world was swinging back and forth and her legs were glued together.

"…¿¿…" That was all she could say to the strangeness of the situation.

"Well, Well, Well…" She heard and suddenly Ryoma was right in front of her, an evil sadistic smirk on his face. Well at least that was what she thought it was, because he was upside down and slowly swinging back and forth.

--

Obviously he couldn't resist; Sakuno wasn't listening to him and she got caught in some strange trap. He just had to rub it in her face; how else was she going to learn her lesson? Besides she looked adorable hanging upside down with that shocked look on her face, while her hair, tied back in its ribbon, was standing on end.

He would have to thank his teammates for that apparently, for he heard snickering from a distant bush. Ryoma knew those leaves were suspicious; they were covering a lasso tied into the Sakura blossom tree.

Well, well, well…" He had said, barely containing his wicked glee.

Her reaction was as expected; she became a whirr of angry energy. Snarling and swinging out wildly, she tried to kick out her legs but her ankles were firmly tied together so she couldn't escape. He ducked out of the way and kept out of range of her enraged fists. He chuckled and thought to let her wear herself out before he tried to talk to her.

But he was surprised when a small drop of moisture hit him square in the forehead. He looked in the sky for signs of rain for a few minutes before looking at Sakuno and seeing the real source of the drop.

--

She was so mad, so frustrated; so why the hell as she crying?

A few more tears fell and then Sakuno felt as though the fire in her veins had a bucket of ice cold water dumped in them. She bit her lower lip in anger to try and stop herself from crying, and rubbed her eyes with her arm. This was more challenging that you would think, because everything was upside down.

"What'd I ever do to you?" She whimpered, upside down with her tears dripping on the ground and up into her hair.

--

Well now Ryoma felt bad, he didn't mean to make her _cry_!

He broke out into a sweat and looked toward the previously snickering bush for advice. The bush stayed solemnly silent and maybe he was imagining things but the bush seemed to have a guilty air to it.

So he was on his own was he? Fine he didn't need them.

"Sakuno, don't cry look I-" he started in what he thought was a promising manner.

"I-I'm not crying!" She interrupted angrily, which he might have believed if she didn't whimper at the end.

"Okay fine, but I didn't do this; I swear. I even tried to warn you before, remember?" He said this as delicately as he could, considering her emotional state.

"Well, what do you care anyways?" she snapped angrily, while hiding her eyes behind her arm. "Shouldn't you go back to Sakura?"

"Sakura?" Gees he had forgotten all about that girl. He was focused on her, Sakuno, couldn't she see that? "Why the hell would I go back to her when I have been chasing you around for the last half an hour in my boxers?!" He yelled outraged.

She took her arm off her eyes in surprise, but then turned her face away from him in a huff. "Don't lie to me; I heard you in the classroom."

Ryoma gave her an icy look, forgetting all about being delicate because of her emotional state. He took a few steps closer and placed hand on the side of her face and turned her toward him. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Well that's what you get for eavesdropping isn't it? You didn't hear the right story!" He ground out.

"I don't believe you." She said though she looked slightly unsure. She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"I don't care." He snapped "I've been working my ass off all day so you would forgive me for what I said a month ago. And now that you're listening I'll say it. I'm Sorry! You hear me; I'm sorry! I only said that shit because I _like _you, damn it! And I was friggin' embarrassed that an idiot like Horio could tell."

There was an awkward silence for a minute before she responded in wonder. "You…You mean it?" She said a disbelieving but hopeful look on her face.

"Well I sure hope so, because otherwise I've lost my mind." He said thinking of all the days events leading up to this very moment.

"I…like you too, Ryoma-kun." She said shyly her face turning a shade darker.

When he heard his name from her lips, he felt like dancing. His name! Not Echizen—Ryoma! Well that meant he was officially forgiven.

"Say my name again…" he said huskily; joyous, but slightly overcome from the day.

"Ryoma-kun?" There was a slight confusion to her voice.

"Again…" He said and leaned closer; an amorous look in his eyes.

"Ryoma-k--" He cut her off with his lips. Sakuno was stiff with surprise at first but she soon relaxed into him and placed her hands on his shoulders, which was awkward because she was currently upside down.

Ryoma thought this was a strange way to share their first kiss together; she in an uncharacteristic outfit and he in his boxers, one upside down, her legs caught in a lasso. But what was ever normal about a relationship? He heard the bush whistle and cat call in the distance.

She pulled away after a moment and whispered his name again. He was a bit dazed and slightly disappointed that she pulled away so he just responded dreamily.

"Yeah?" he looked into her bright red face and half-lidded appearance, and he couldn't help but smirk with contentment,

"…Dizzy…" She mumbled. His ego inflated at that, really was he that good a kisser?

Before he could dwell any more on that pleasant thought, Sakuno's eyes rolled back into her head and she went totally limp and her arms flopped from his shoulders gracelessly.

That's when he noticed that she wasn't just blushing from the kiss, a lot of blood had flown to her head from being upside-down for so long.

"Sakuno!? Waugh! Wake up, don't fall asleep! I'll get you down; don't die!!" He dove for the base of the tree and started clawing his way up it to wear the rope was tied off. He looked toward the bush from earlier, a note of desperation in his voice as he called. "Guys help! She fainted; we need to get her down!!"

The bush shook with worry before suddenly giving birth to several of his friends from the tennis team. Eiji and Taka emerged first, both looked very harassed and had bruises developing, they rushed over to the tree and untied some hidden rope and slowly started to lower Sakuno. They all worked with a speed only brought by panic.

"Ochibi," Momo called pointing a camera directly at Ryoma "Untie that last knot at the top and she'll come down." Ryoma would be mad about the camera later. He shimmied up to the thickest branch which had the rope tied around it and which currently anchored Sakuno. He very carefully undid the knot and warned those below that he was letting go of the rope. Oishi caught Sakuno, lowered her to the ground as Eiji started to untie the rope around her ankles and Momo held her torso in an upright position to use gravity and make sure the blood flow to her head evened out.

"What's going on; what happened?!" Screamed a panicked voice; everyone looked to see Tomoka, Inui, and Fuji running across the courtyard.

"She fainted, Nya! We were helping Ochibi get her down!" Eiji called back anxiously.

"What!? Oh god, call an ambulance!" Tomoka screeched, while starting to hyperventilate.

"I think she'll be okay," Ryoma said and felt her forehead, "She's just sleeping now. We should probably just take her home." All of the starters' expressions went from worried to grinning in a second.

"Of course; we need to be there to make sure you won't do anything untoward to Sakuno-Chan." Momo grinned and pointed his camera at Ryoma's face.

Ryoma could have responded, but he caught a glimpse of an angry storm in the distance and decided to make his escape.

"Well I think I can handle it myself; I got to get going though. Talk to you guys later." He swung Sakuno over his shoulder, carrying her piggy-back style and galloped off toward the exit, not even daring to look back.

"What's his problem?" Momo wondered aloud.

Suddenly a hand with a vice-like grip clamped down on his shoulder and voice spat out from hell itself hissed in his ear. "No clue." Momo turned in terror to see the hand of their tennis captain.

Momo screeched like an actress in a B-movie horror film.

"I'd like to have a word with you all; that includes you Tomo-Chan." He said in that eerie voice. Tomoka, who was trying to sneak away froze, then turned quickly and saluted smartly. She started praying that he saw pity in the fact that she was a helpless little freshmen girl.

"You all are a bunch of April's _Fools_!" Tezuka snarled angrily at the cowering group of individuals.

--

Sakuno woke and stretched, to find herself on her own living room couch. She closed her eyes and sniffed the air smelling the pleasant aroma of popcorn.

She had had a crazy dream. It had seemed so real, even now she swore she could still feel Ryoma's arms around her.

Wait a second.

She looked over and saw Ryoma sitting next to her on the couch, (he now had pants on and she would later notice that she was also was newly clothed) eating popcorn from a large bowl and watching TV.

Her eyes widened. "Ryoma-kun, what are…?" She broke off confused.

He turned and smiled at her. "Ah, good you're awake; maybe you can explain this anime to me. I found it in your DVD player and I can't understand it at all." He said and read the back of the DVD box, looking for an explanation he might have missed. "Oh, are you hungry? I made popcorn." He then offered the bowl to her.

She took it with a bewildered expression and popped a few pieces into her mouth.

"So," She started, confusion very evident on her face. "It wasn't a dream…?"

Ryoma, knowing exactly how she felt shook his head sympathetically. "Nope. Seems like it though doesn't it? I can't believe those guys lassoed you into a tree." He said contemplatively.

She didn't know who he was talking about, she remembered being upside down; but apparently she wasn't conscious for finding out who the culprit was.

She remembered kissing Ryoma and everything going black from there.

She then thought of something, "Where's my grandma?" She asked.

A wicked smirk suddenly grew on his face. "She went to pick you up some things to make you feel better from an old shrine a half-hour away."

"…So…we're alone?" His smirk widened. Sakuno blushed as he pulled her closer and pressed his lips against hers for the second time. This time they were both the right way up, but she felt like she was floating and the world around her was spinning upside down.

--

The End

--

Epilogue

--

Ryoma glared at the mirror, not liking what he saw at all.

He still couldn't believe that he had agreed to this. It's not like Tomoka helped him at all in the end—that was all his charm and wit. When his girlfriend insisted that he should hold to his promise, he melted like butter. He was helpless when she pouted her lips…he was going out with a vixen alright.

The vixen in question handed him a large carrot-shaped pillow, with a smile that made him remember why he agreed to this in the first place. But he wouldn't be giving up without a fight.

"I can't believe you are letting them take pictures of _your boyfriend_ like this! Don't you have any sense of womanly possession? Get in cat-fight for god's sake!" Sakuno giggled before responding.

"But you look so cute, and it's for a good cause; they are giving all the money to the tennis team. The team could get the courts redone or get all new practice balls." She said cheerfully.

"Oh I'm definitely going to need a new pair of balls after this." He groaned in dismay.

"We owe it to Tomo-Chan you know; she kind of set us up." Sakuno said and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He tried to deepen it but she pulled away. "Besides you already promised!" She said sternly.

"That was back when she said she would put in a good word for me to you; which she didn't! That isn't worth my dignity to you is it?" He whined, even more aggravated now from the fact that she kept teasing him like that. "And don't say _we_ owe it to her unless you want to wear this thing too." He said grumpily.

"You know that I offered earlier; _you're_ the one that told _me_ 'no'." He did remember that, he also remembered Tomoka holding up the string bikini that Sakuno would have had to wear, had he not intervened.

He stuck out his tongue at her in a childish manner.

She giggled before pulling him by the bow-tie on his full-body Easter rabbit costume and giving him another peck, which he deepened for as long as he could before he was shoved off again. "Love you too." She smiled. "Now get out there and wish everyone a happy Easter!"

With that, she shoved him out from behind the curtain and onto a stage in front of a crowd of people. Said crowd consisted mostly of screaming girls with cameras, though he could see Fuji, Kaido, and Tezuka in a corner snickering—Fuji of course was filming the entire event.

Ryoma sighed and hopped over to his place between Momo and Eiji, who were both posing while also dressed in equally ridiculous Easter costumes. Momo was in a absurd chick-coming-out-of-painted-egg outfit, while Eiji sported a pair of cat ears, a tail, and a bow-tie matching Ryoma's own. Taka was providing food for the event, while Inui took care of building the stage in back of the school providing the lighting and technical knowledge. Tomoka, Oishi and Fuji took care of publicity and costumes.

Kaido was exempt. Tezuka did not make him run all of the laps around Japan. Kaido, in fear, did manage to make it five hours away to the coast before somebody could contact him and convince him that the captain had forgiven him.

Ryoma grumbled and hugged his carrot pillow closer and froze like that for a few seconds—make sure people had time to get a good picture.

He adopted another pose few a few minutes before turning and shaking his cotton tail for the audience a few times. As he did this, he saw Sakuno peeking through the curtains behind them and getting a few pictures of her own. When she noticed she'd been caught she gave him a cheesy smile and winked.

Well he wasn't going to take that lying down.

He took a flying, ninja-bunny hop and pounced on her. After a few minutes of fruitless struggling on Sakuno's part he pulled her from behind the curtain onto the stage with his three-fingered, fuzzy, rabbit paws. She blushed from all of the crowds cheering and laughing at her abrupt entrance. But then Tomoka hopped on stage and plopped a pair of bunny ears on Sakuno's head. There was an awkward moment of silence before everyone else on stage burst into laughter themselves.

Ryoma pulled Sakuno closer and they shared another kiss on-stage and the cameras everywhere clicked and flashed all around them. Their bunny kiss captured forever; Hoppy Easter Tomoka; you got your wish.

--

Sakura stood at the back of the crowd and watched as Ryoma and Sakuno shared a kiss in front of the Ryoma's previous fan club, which had broken up once they saw how happy Ryoma and Sakuno were together—there was no chance for them.

She was happy for them.

She snapped a few pictures then turned to her new crush sitting on a picnic table away from the general populous. He stared at the assembly disdainfully. She trotted up to him and smiled pleasantly and attempted to engage him in a conversation, she knew he wouldn't return the favor but she tried anyways. Of course he just ignored her as per usual.

This of course was the cool new kid who never said anything about anything.

Sasuke.

--

A/N: Gahhh!! *Dodges Tomatoes* don't kill me!! I know it's been too long but I have an excuse I swear! *More tomatoes are thrown* okay, you probably don't care as long as you got the end right?

Well this is it—the end!! I know, I thought we'd never get here either, but thanks to those of you that never gave up on me! I love you all!

I am starting a couple new fics but I decided that I'll only try to post them when they're ALL done because then I don't have to keep you guys waiting so long. I do have one I'm pretty proud of in the works I'm might post the first 2 chapters to see if anyone's interested but dats it.

Till then loves, you all rock muh world!! Reviews of all kind are welcome!!

Pages count: 87 total! Woot!


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